Down the Slope
by Alpha29King
Summary: Sequel for 'Reflection'. Naruto and the gang are on their way to Onsen Town, after acquiring four badges, two ribbons, complete teams, and a much-needed break, when several battling Pokemon causes them slide down the slope.
1. Chapter 1

**Down The Slope**

Chapter 1

* * *

**Summary: Sequel for 'Reflection'. Naruto and the gang are on their way to Onsen Town, after acquiring four badges, two ribbons, complete teams, and a much-needed break, when several battling Pokemon causes them slide down the slope.**

**Speech and Thought (from now on) [genderless Pokemon speech will be completely capitalized]**

"**Human Speech"**

_**:Pokemon Speech:**_

_'**Human Thought'**_

_**{Pokemon Thought}**_

* * *

Naruto, Naruko, and Hinata groaned and struggled to keep themselves from sweating as they paused from their hike. After a week of fun in Icecap Town, the trio thought that the comfortable air temperature as they descended the Kage Mountains would be a rather nice change. Too bad that the path that they were traversing was a long steep, rocky mountain trail, that one misstep would send them tumbling down the side of the mountain.

Naruto had finally acquired three more badges, bringing his collection to four. Hinata had also gotten a few victories of her own, acquiring two contest ribbons. Naruko was definitely enjoying the journey. Also, all three of them now had full Pokemon teams, though Naruto still had trouble with Cherry. Even some of their Pokemon had also evolved.

Once they had left Shinobi City, they decided to go to Storm City, since it was the closest. It was located in a bay and its beaches were beautiful. It was named by the fact that the place got hit by a barrage of storms every year during the spring and early summer. After getting their sightseeing done and souvenirs purchased, Naruto set off to challenge the gym. The Storm City gym leader turned out to be Professor Sarutobi's son, Asuma Sarutobi. Though he was a monkey Pokemon specialist like the old man, Gym Leader Asuma used flying-types for the gym battle. Asuma's Chatot was easily defeated by Flo's Ice Beam, but the Luvdisc got trumped by Asuma's Pidgeot's Aerial Ace. Naruto's next choice was Han, and after an intense battle, the Pichu won with Thundershock. It was during the battle with Asuma's third and final Pokemon, Staraptor, that Han evolved into Pikachu and won the battle. Naruto didn't even have to use Cherry or Shadow. With that, Naruto earned himself his second badge, the Hurricane Badge.

Oasis Town was their next destination. When they arrived there, they were in time for Hinata's first Pokemon contest. She used Spray for the appeal round and Heart for the battle round. Like the fortuneteller had said, Hinata had trouble in the final battle but still came out victorious. Hinata had won herself her first ribbon. After celebrating her victory and a goodnight's sleep, they set off to find the gym. Once they arrived to it, they found out from the gym leader's assistant and only trainer, a redheaded girl named Karui, that Gym Leader Kurenai Yuhi was on maternity leave after going into labor and birthing a healthy baby boy. That meant that Naruto was out of luck there. Before leaving Oasis Town, the trio discovered that Kurenai's husband was Asuma.

With no battle in Oasis Town, the trio crossed a forest to arrive in Hive City. The gym leader turned out to be none other than Shino's uncle, Gen Aburame. Gym Leader Gen was less creepy and more social than any other member of the Aburame family. Like the rest of his family, Gen trained bug-type Pokemon. His rules and conditions for a gym challenge were different than most gyms. Naruto had to choose two of Gym Leader Gen's five Pokemon to battle for the badge. Naruto chose the man's Ariados and Beedrill. It was somewhat of an easy win, as Naruto went with Han and Cherry. Han managed to knock out Beedrill and badly injure the Ariados with Iron Tail, then got defeated by the spider's Night Shade. Cherry had a hard time, as she was still fighting the affects of the soothe bell, but she used a well-aimed and well-shot Ember to wipe the floor with the Ariados. With that, Naruto earned his third badge, the Swarm Badge.

The long walk through the desert to reach Desert City was not worth it. It took the group two and a half days to arrive at the gate of the city. As soon as they located the gym, they discovered that the gym was closed for repairs. Apparently, Sasuke's group had been there just three days earlier. Sasuke had challenged the gym and won, while completely and utterly wrecking the gym in the process. The gym leader, a boy about the group's age with red hair and creepy eyes, informed that it would take at least two weeks to finish the repairs. So Naruto was out of luck. As the trio was getting ready to depart from Desert City, a sandstorm shrouded the city, making them stay a bit longer. While stranded in the city, they managed restock their supplies. The sandstorm lifted two days later.

It was about three hours after leaving civilization, that they were hit with another sandstorm, but Naruko quickly realized that that one wasn't a natural one but the Pokemon move. Soon they found the Pokemon that caused it. There was a Trapinch, Hippopotas, and Gible fighting over some food. They let them battle amongst themselves for a while longer to catch the ground Pokemon. When the trainers were sure that the wild Pokemon were weak enough, they hurled their Pokeballs. Naruto caught the Trapinch, which turned out to be female and named it Sahara. Naruko caught the Hippopotas, which was male and named it Sherman. Hinata captured the Gible, which was also male and named the little dragon Torpedo. These catches brought their totals up. Naruto had five, Naruko had five as well, and Hinata finally had six to complete her team.

After a week of walking through three forests, across three plains and over two rivers, and spending one night in an isolated Pokemon Center, and countless battles, the trio made it to a border town named Spring City. When Naruto and Naruko didn't know what a border town was, since they weren't paying attention in class that day, Hinata explained. A border town was place on the border between two countries. A long time ago, the region was actually five small nations that came together as one to make the region of Star. A drawn star has five points and each point represents one of the five countries of the union. After a few years, the region got named. Spring City was pretty much the only border town left. Not much was there. The only two things that got their attention was the 'Good Guy' fighting dojo and the contest hall.

They chose to check out the dojo first, since the contest was two days away. The dojo was run by a man named Mighty Guy. It was during Guy's tour of the facility that they made a discovery. Three familiar people trained there. The first one was Hinata's cousin, Neji Hyuga. The other two were a girl in Chinese style clothes and hair buns, named Tenten, and a boy who looked somewhat similar to Mighty Guy wearing green spandex, named Rock Lee. All three of them were also residents of Konoha Town. After a quick chat while having lunch and deciding to take a challenge, Guy explained to them the challenge rules. All battles are one-on-one. Victory over a dojo student was rewarded with an advanced item, such as Full Restores and stat enhancing mineral (Protein, Carbos, Zinc, Iron, and Calcium). Victory over a dojo assistant (Neji, Lee, Tenten) was rewarded with hold items or evolutionary items. Victory over the dojo master, Mighty Guy, was rewarded with a random fighting-type Pokemon and three TMs. Naruto, Naruko and Hinata huddled to decide. In the end, Naruto went straight for Guy, Naruko went for a marathon of battles, and Hinata just challenged her cousin.

Naruto had a hard time, but eventually defeated Mighty Guy. His reward was the Pokemon, Croagunk, which completed his team and named it Reaper, and three TMs of his choosing (Brick Break, Psychic, Aerial Ace). In one of her battles, Naruko's Magikarp, Serpent, evolved into Gyarados. Naruko won all her battles and ended up collecting a good amount of winnings. Hinata lost badly against Neji. Duke, her Riolu, was no match against Neji's Lucario, Kaiten. The twins comforted the Hyuga girl before she had a chance to cry. When Neji asked her why her Riolu was still weak, she told him that she was going for contest ribbons, not gym badges. With that, the trio left the dojo for the Pokemon Center so Hinata could get Duke ready for the contest.

When the contest came around, Hinata used Duke for the appeal round. While waiting for the results, Neji met her in the hall's lounge and gave her a few words for encouragement. She made it to the battle round and saw Neji, Tenten, Lee, and Guy sitting with Naruto and Naruko, cheering her on. She decided it was time. Knives the shiny Registeel made its debut and won the ribbon for its master, Hinata. After the contest, many trainers and coordinators wanted to trade to get their hands on her Registeel. She refused every single one of them. The next day, they said their goodbyes as Naruto got the location for the nearest gym.

It was during their hike through the semi-frozen landscape to reach Icecap Town, for Naruto's next gym battle, that Naruko caught her sixth Pokemon to complete her team. Pokemon number six was a female Absol she named Rixie. Naruto thought about taking Shadow to the Icy Rock to evolve him to a Glaceon, but decided against it since he really wanted an Umbreon. During his battle with the gym leader, Zabuza Momochi, that his Trapinch evolved into Vibrava before submitting to an Ice Beam from Zabuza's Glalie. It was thanks to Cherry and Reaper that Naruto earned his fourth gym badge, the Mist Badge. Naruko suggested that they stay there for a week to rest from all that walking.

Now they headed for Onsen Town, a small remote resort town with lots of natural hot springs, hence the name. Tourists travel from all over just to refresh themselves in the warm waters and mud baths. Though Naruko and Hinata were interested in relaxing there, Naruto wasn't. His only interest was in the Onsen Town Gym.

'_After this, we'll head to Green City,'_ Naruto decided mentally as they started hiking again. _'The Forest of Death is near there. If the rumors are true, it's a great place to train—plenty of grass, bug, dark, and ghost-types there. If Shadow isn't evolved into Umbreon by the time we arrive there, then I might as well evolve him into Leafeon and rename him to something plant related like—'_

A crashing sound stopped them from their hike. Up above the narrow mountain trail there was ledge where a wild, fully-evolve Metagross was tussling with several rock-type Gravelers and fighting-type Machokes. The massive psychic/steel-type swiped away the offending Pokemon as they lunged themselves at it. One of the swiped Gravelers rolled down the slope… and straight for the twins and the Hyuga girl, while Naruto and Hinata were using their Pokedexes.

With a yelp, they scrambled to the side to avoid being crushed. But before they knew what happened, the path started to crumble and the ground under their feet gave in. Screaming, they slipped down the slope heading for a flat boulder sticking out of the side of the mountain. Out of the corner of her eye, Hinata saw the tired Metagross finally get grabbed and hurled over the edge. In a last ditch effort of consciousness, she pulled out a Pokeball from her backpack and threw it at the Metagross. The ball landed and rolled down behind them. Hinata never saw whether the catch was a success or a failure. Then there was a large boulder—

* * *

Something was wrong. Cherry and Sunset sensed this instantly when they escaped the confines of their Pokeballs and found themselves on the side of a mountain than on the hiking trail. And then, as they struggled to keep their footing, they spotted their blond-haired trainers and the Hyuga girl crumpled on the large boulder.

_:…Whisker Face?:_

_:Mistress Naruko?:_

When the pair of Vulpix didn't get a response from the humans, they carefully crept closer to them. All three humans lay still with their eyes closed as if asleep. The boy was in an awkward position on the ground, his bare skin was scraped up and there was blood on his face. Naruko and Hinata's injuries were nothing compared with the boy's. They only got a few cuts and bruises. Naruko also seemed to have a swollen ankle. Hinata had a swollen wrist, luckily it wasn't her throwing arm. It seemed that Naruto had protected the girls from the full force of the impact. Cherry and Sunset cringed at the metallic odor of blood and pawed their trainers on their shoulders to shake them.

_:Hey! Whisker Face! Get up!:_ Cherry barked. _:This isn't the place for you to be taking a nap!:_

_:Please wake up Mistress Naruko!:_ Sunset whimpered. _:You're in danger here:_

The young Pokemon trainers didn't wake up.

_:What the hell is going on?:_

_:What he said.:_

_:Where are we?:_

Cherry and Sunset looked a few feet up the slope to find that Han, Gloss and Duke had escaped their Pokeballs as well. The Riolu looked around frantically in confusion as he saw the trail of supplies from three exploded backpacks. The electric mouse and the normal cat spotted Cherry and Sunset crouched by the fallen trainers. Han glared and sparks danced around his face. Duke and Gloss started picking up the scattered items as they went down the trail to the downed trainers.

_:What did you do?!:_ Han squeaked furiously.

_:I didn't do anything!:_ Cherry growled. _:We found them like this.:_

_:I don't believe you!:_ Han shot back. _:It's always your fault!:_

_:No its not!:_ Cherry hissed.

_:Why are you two fighting this time?:_ a new voice whimpered. _:What's going on?:_

Shadow the Eevee was loose now and taking in the scene with a confused expression on his face.

_:Cherry hurt Haruto again,:_ Han said.

_:No I didn't!:_ Cherry growled. _:I didn't do…:_

_:WILL YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP!:_ Sunset barked. _:Han! My sister is telling the truth! We did find them like this already!:_

_:Naruto?:_ Shadow squeaked. He spied his trainer close to the edge of the large rock they were on. _:Naruto!:_ The Eevee panicked and ran toward the human boy. The loose ground near the rock gave way under his little paws and he slipped even more down the mountainside. _:Aah! Someone! Help me!:_

Two other Pokeballs had come loose from the trainers' belts and wobbled to open up. Reaper the Croagunk and Heart the Buneary appeared and raced down the unstable slope to save the falling Eevee. Once they managed to successfully rescue Shadow, Reaper placed the two smaller Pokemon on his back, dug his feet into the ground and slowed down the sliding until stopping, before climbing back to the large boulder.

_:Awesome save, Reaper!:_ Han cheered, pumping his tiny fists into the air.

_:No problem,:_ the Croagunk grinned as he climbed up on the boulder and placed Heart and Shadow down.

_:Thanks for the save you two,:_ Shadow said.

_:Anytime buddy,:_ Reaper nodded.

_:It's always good to help a comrade in need,:_ Heart smiled.

_:So, Naruto, do you have any snacks for me?:_ the poisonous fighting frog asked. When they finally turned around and saw the three trainers lying there, they froze. _:Er… Naruto?:_

_:Naruto…:_ Shadow pawed the boy's injured arm, while Heart went to try and wake up Hinata.

_:What happened?:_ Reaper puffed out his cheeks with a croak.

_:We don't know,:_ Han answered.

_:They're really hurt badly,:_ Reaper murmured as he probed a tear on Naruto's orange vest.

All the commotion caused all of the small Pokemon to come out. Flo and Sahara stayed in their Pokeballs. Sherman and Rixie came out while Lady Luna and Serpent stayed confined. The Hippopotas landed on the boulder and the Absol buried her claws into the gravel to keep herself from sliding. Spray the Piplup, Kunoichi the Ralts and Torpedo the Gible also made an appearance and Knives stayed inside. After witnessing the scene in front of them, they started demanding an explanation. It took only a few minutes for Sunset to explained what happened.

_:What do we do now?:_ Kunoichi wondered as she used her psychic powers to her best knowledge to try and heal Hinata.

_:They're too big and heavy for any of us to move them back up to the trail,:_ Han muttered as he ran his tiny paw through the boy's blond hair.

_:Can't Luna or Serpent do it?:_ Sherman asked hopefully.

_:No! They're too heavy! Their weight could bury us in a landslide or cause this boulder to break off and send us deeper down the mountainside,:_ Cherry snorted.

_:The only thing we can do is move them away from the boulder's edge,:_ Sunset said calmly.

It took the Pokemon a few minutes to sit the humans against the gravel while Duke and Gloss collected the items and used scent to place them with the rightful owner. When it was done, Reaper and Spray tried fixing the Uzumakis' backpacks and Hinata's messenger bag.

_:We should wait for them to wake up,:_ Han decided. _:When they wake up, we could help them find a Pokemon Center so they can be healed.:_

Cherry frowned and stared down at the humans. They were so still and pale and quiet that it didn't seem at all natural. Her trainer was always so noisy and energetic…

_:Do you really think that they'll just wake up on their own?:_ the Vulpix scoffed. _:I say we go and find another human to help them out of here.:_

_:And abandon our trainers to whatever wild Pokemon that are around?:_ Han squeaked angrily. _:No! We wait here and protect them until they wake up!:_

_:I'm not leaving Naruto!:_ Shadow declared.

_:I'm not abandoning Naruko!:_ Gloss hissed.

_:I'm staying with Hinata!:_ Heart said proudly.

_:Leaving may not be such a brilliant idea,:_ Reaper said uneasily. _:We could get lost! Besides, it's getting dark.:_

_:You guys are a bunch of cowards!:_ Cherry sneered. _:You can't do anything for you selves now that you're tamed!: _She turned away from them and started picking her way up to the trail. _:I'll see you babies later when I find a human!:_

The fox hesitated when she reached the flat and stable ground of the trail. She wasn't sure which way they three trainers had been heading, but there was sure to be humans in either direction. Marked trails and paths always indicated humans.

_:Damn it!:_ Sunset barked. _:Torpedo! Rixie! Follow her and keep her out of trouble!:_

_:Roger!:_ the Gible and Absol said in unison before heading for the trail.

_:Alright,:_ Cherry said to herself as she ran down the trail at full speed. She used her nose to try and pick up the scent of humans. _:Now to find a human…:_

* * *

Minato Namikaze looked out over the mountains as the sun set behind him. He loved the Kage Mountains. He had grown up in Onsen Town, raised by his uncle, and knew the cliffs and ravines around the resort town. There were a lot spots on the mountains that were so isolated that no one ever knew about them. Minato had found a few such places, and was currently heading for one of them to camp out for a while.

Being the League Champion of the Star Region was not how he had imagined it would be. There was the respect and the recognition. And mostly, there was the knowledge that he was one of the most strongest Pokemon trainers in the world. But there were also so many obligations and requirements that went with the title. It was mandatory for him to participate in certain league tournaments and other official events. As one of the best trainers, he was also counted on to help the police with cases when the criminal organization, Team Sound, and Pokemon were involved.

Then there were the fans. In Star and out of Star. People from around the world looked up to him. When some fans recognize him, he couldn't just ignore them. He had to be polite and indulge them a little. Requests for autographs and pictures were the most common things when recognized. There were also the occasional punk trainers that thought they were better than him, even though they hadn't acquired the eight league badges.

Children that aspired to be trainers were definitely the best fans. It made it seem that being champion was worth it. The worst fans were the women. They all wanted to be his wife and bear his children. Every one he had met had that hint of lust in their eyes. The female fans were the bad side of being the champion.

…He needed get away from them, badly…

Minato never imagine that he would attract so many female upon earning his title. When he had first started as a trainer, he had been so young that girls didn't have a place in his mind. Even grown up, he hadn't thought about the consequences of achieving his dream. The only thing that was on his mind was Pokemon and how to get better.

_'Maybe that was my mistake,'_ he brooded as the sinking sun created an illusion that the mountains were engulfed in flames. _'I only focused on what I wanted in the future, not what the future would be like. I never paid enough attention to what was happening around me. If only I had… If only she…'_

A light static shock jolted him from his thoughts and he blinked, finding Akiko sitting on the ground in front of him.

"Sorry," he sighed. "Did I look too gloomy?"

The Raichu climbed onto his lap.

"Alright!" he chuckled and patted Akiko's head. "No more brooding on what a big idiot I am."

A metallic chiming sound caught his ears as he eased the Raichu onto his shoulder. At first, he thought it was a Chingling or a Chimecho, but those two Pokemon don't live at this altitude. Secondly, it sounded more like a bell as he listened. Minato looked around the mild brush that grew at that height for the source of the sound. But it found him.

The bushes rustled and a Vulpix jumped out into the open. Minato frowned at the little fox Pokemon as he pulled out his old and battered Pokedex. Then two more Pokemon, an Absol and a Gible, appeared.

The three Pokemon flinched at the sight of him and stared up at his face as if transfixed. They were panting heavily like they were running for a while. He got urged to capture them but then he heard the bell jingle again.

'A Soothe Bell, Blackglasses and a Soft Sand,' he noted. 'They already belong to someone. Damn!'

"Hello there," he greeted in a friendly and non-threatening tone so not to scare them off. "Are you guys lost?"

The three broke from their trance and yapped at him. Akiko jumped down from his shoulder and slowly approached the strange Pokemon. His Raichu engaged them in a conversation that only the four of them could understand while Minato watched patiently.

When the discussion ended, Akiko beckoned to him while the Vulpix and the Absol paced anxiously.

"So, we're going on a field trip, huh?" Minato asked. "It's late. Can't we do this in the morning?"

The Vulpix spat a small burst of embers at him. Minato yelped in an undignified manner and stumbled out of the way. Akiko disciplined the fire fox by sweeping it's feet with her tail. She gave the other two Pokemon Thunder warning shots when they tried to rescue the Vulpix.

"Okay, okay," Minato sighted. "We'll go now."

At his signal, Akiko released the Vulpix. The three Pokemon gave them both an ugly look before heading back the way they had come, periodically pausing to check that they were still following. Akiko seemed rather disgruntled by the audacity of the Pokemon, but Minato was more intrigued with why the Pokemon wanted to be followed.

_'Camping can wait. This might be more important…'_

* * *

Kushina sat on the bench of her back porch, staring over Lake End as the sun began to set behind the trees. Her Vaporeon dozed by her feet and her Kabutops crouched watchfully while the rest of her Pokemon lurked under the calm waters of the lake.

She missed her kids. For eleven years, her entire world revolved around them. When her mind wondered onto the past, she would distract herself by looking after Naruko and Naruto. But with her son and daughter away, there was escape from the shadows of her past. And her mistakes.

She could deal with the small mistakes. The big ones… those she ran away from like the devil was after her. Everybody always thought she was brave, but her boldness and impulsiveness was just a façade to hide her past and not have time to think—time to be afraid.

_'I'm a coward,'_ she thought bitterly. _'I run away to escape. But I trap myself even more. My life is a mess.'_

On the outside, she was fine. She had two loving children and a nice house in a nice town. But aside from Naruto, Naruko and her loyal Pokemon, she was alone.

She missed her family and her home region. She missed all the people she befriended on her journey as a trainer. She missed him.

But she couldn't go back there. Surely, they would all resent her for leaving them, for all the things that she had kept from them. Maybe they would even hate her. He would.

Kushina couldn't bear that.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, hoping that the breeze would carry her words to the people that needed to hear them.

Then a chill went up her spine… as if it was a sign that something bad had happened to her babies.

_'Please be okay my darlings…'_

* * *

Shadow stared at the white full moon and shivered. Naruto, Naruko and Hinata were getting cold and Naruto was starting to breath funny.

_:Why can't I evolve?:_ the Eevee wondered. _:Han and Sahara evolved just fine. I should be able to evolve the same way. So why haven't I?:_

_:Naruto doesn't seem to mind that you haven't evolved yet,:_ Sunset said as she sat next to Shadow. _:So yeah, Han evolved into a Pikachu and Sahara into a Vibrava. My teammate, Serpent, evolved into a Gyarados. One day, everybody will see how great the Uzumaki twins and Hinata Hyuga were. Ain't that right, Duke?:_

_:Heck yeah!:_ the Riolu replied, seeing the poor repairs to the bags.

_:But will I still be with Naruto?:_ Shadow worried. _:If I don't evolve soon, he might get fed up with me and send me away. He might replace me with a better Pokemon.:_

_:Doubt it,:_ Sunset muttered. _:Even if you don't evolve, Naruto will still train you to be as strong as you can be. Mistress Naruko and Hinata are also doing it. So don't worry about it.:_

_:Okay,:_ Shadow nodded, ending the conversation.

A cold wind moaned through the peaks and Shadow snuggled closer to Naruto, as did the rest of the Pokemon with their trainers. His trainer always tried to do some night training in hopes that the Eevee would evolve. But Shadow hated the dark. As did the twins.

A creepy laugh drifted through the air.

_:What was that?:_ Duke muttered.

_:Probably just the wind,:_ Cherry whispered back.

The laugh grew louder and closer. _:I'm not the wind.:_

_:Who's there?:_ Spray demanded.

A Gengar materialized in the air above them. _:We are!:_

_:We?:_ Shadow whimpered.

_:I got a bad feeling about this,:_ Kunoichi whispered to Heart.

_:Yes!:_ the Gengar cackled wildly. _:We!:_

And then a Haunter, a pair of Gastlys, a pair of Shuppets, and a trio of Duskulls appeared out of thin air around the floating Gengar as Sherman buried himself completely under the loose gravel.

_:Knew it,:_ Kunoichi whispered again. _:Damn.:_

_:What do you want?:_ Reaper asked warily, his body shaking with anticipation for battle.

_:We want to eat the humans' dreams!:_ the Gengar laughed maniacally. _:Move aside and we might leave you alone.:_

_:But they're hurt,:_ Heart huffed angrily. _:You can't eat their dreams!:_

_:You could kill them!:_ Duke growled

_:We don't care!:_ the Haunter sneered. _:We're hungry!:_

The Haunter vanished then reappeared in front of them, disembodied hands spread wide. A cold sensation washed over Shadow, Heart and Gloss, but the rest of the Pokemon, except Sherman, were sent flying a few feet away and down the mountainside. All the other ghosts swooped in, aiming for the helpless humans.

_:GO AWAY!:_ Shadow squeaked as he and the other normals tried to cover their trainers' bodies with their smaller ones. _:Leave them alone!:_

_:Ugh! Normal-types are so annoying!:_ one of the Shuppets whined.

_:I'll take care of them!:_ a Gastly said and extended it tongue to Lick Shadow.

Shadow shivered at the disgusting contact and charged in for a Tackle and hit… nothing.

_:Moron!:_ the Gengar cursed and smacked the Gastly. _:Ghost attacks can't touch normal-types! That's why they weren't affected when Haunter used Astonish on them. Use Curse—:_

Reaper appeared out of the darkness and slammed into the Gengar. _:Take that!:_ the Croagunk cried and lunged himself at the startled Duskulls in pursuit. _:Come back here you white-faced sissies!:_

Kunoichi teleported in front of them and used her Shadow Ball on two of them. Reaper knocked out the third one.

_:Ow!:_ the Gengar grunted. _:I hate Faint Attacks! Gastlys, Lick that frog!:_

The two shadowy balls of gas moved to attack Reaper from behind as he focused on helping Gloss handle the Shuppets, but were interrupted by a combined burst of fire, water and electricity, knocking them out.

_:Not so fast!:_ Han squeaked angrily, as the rest of the Pokemon were making it back onto the rock. _:You didn't forget about us?:_

_:Argh! You're annoying!:_ the Gengar sneered and hurled an orb of misty light at the Pikachu. _:Eat this!:_

At first, Han just sat there after being hit with the attack. Then the Pikachu started to stumble and grope around. It was as if his body refused to listen to him, or that he was starting to hallucinate.

_:Oh no!:_ Shadow trembled. _:That was Confuse Ray!:_

_:Ugh!:_

_:Aah!:_

Shadow flinched at the Croagunk and Ralts' cries and turned to find the fighting toad and the green-haired psychic trembling in paralysis. Reaper and Kunoichi had battered the two Shuppets into submission, but the Gastlys and Duskulls returned. The Gastlys had gotten a good Lick on both of them, and now they couldn't move.

Heart was helping Sunset with guided the Pokemon back onto the boulder. The ghost didn't seem to notice them. But where was Gloss and Sherman.

_:Hmph!:_ the Gengar chuckled. _:Now that those three annoyances are taken care of… lets eat!:_

The Gengar, the Haunter, the two Gastly, and the three Duskulls crowded around the fallen trainers, brushing Shadow aside with their cold presence. As they started drawing hazy streams of energy from the humans, Sherman popped his head out of the ground and grabbed one of the Duskulls with his mouth and dragged it underground. Gloss swiped away the other two Duskulls and a Gastly with a powerful Shadow Claw, to which they finally submitted. Then she got put to sleep by the Haunter's Hypnosis. The trainers' breathing was starting to get worse and they started to moan and cry.

_:Stop it!:_ Shadow cried and threw himself between the ghosts and the trainers. _:You're killing them!:_

_:We don't care, you furball!:_ the Haunter snarled.

_:Move or the Gastly will Curse you!:_ the Gengar threatened.

Shadow trembled in fear. Han was confused. Reaper and Kunoichi were still frozen with paralysis. Gloss was asleep. Sherman was dealing with a Duskull underground. And Heart was helping the rest of the Pokemon back up the slope. Plus Cherry, Rixie and Torpedo weren't back yet from finding help.

_:No!:_ Shadow gulped. _:I… I'm not moving. I won't let you hurt them!:_

The Eevee started to glow, giving the ghosts pause. Then the little Pokemon's silhouette began to grow and change. When the aura of blinding light disappeared, a very different Pokemon crouched there. It was sleek and black. Yellow rings decorated its shoulders, hips, forehead, tail, and ears, which glowed faintly in the moonlight. Its eyes were red and glaring. Shadow had evolved into Umbreon.

_:I won't let you hurt Naruto or the girls!:_

* * *

**Whew! Chapter 1 of 'Down The Slope' is done. It took me a while with all my other fics that I'm writing at the same time as this. And my sleep schedule is all messed now. Oh well, can't complain I guess. I enjoy writing these fics and reading everybody else's.**

**You know what to do know.**

**Please leave your review and I'll Chapter 2 up as soon as it's finished.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Down The Slope**

Chapter 2

* * *

**Alrighty now! It's the second installment of "Down The Slope".**

* * *

Minato groaned, peering through the darkness as he and his Raichu, Akiko, picked their way along a treacherous and unstable rocky trail that hugged the mountainside, while trying th keep up with the Vulpix, Absol and Gible. To be able to see the narrow path, he had Akiko use Flash, making her into a walking lantern. The ball of light cast by her glowing cheeks had barely reached far enough to keep the three Pokemon in view, as they impatiently pranced ahead of them, leading them further down the road.

'This stretch of the trail is dangerous. Even in full daylight,' Minato frowned. 'Perhaps their trainer walked to close to the edge and slipped, or part of the trail collapsed. If that's what has happen, then he or she could be seriously hurt… or possibly even dead.'

They rounded a bend in the path and the sounds of battle greeted them. The high-pitch shrieks of ghost-type Pokemon echoed across the mountain range. There was no hesitation from Minato as he broke into a full-speed run down the trail.

The three Pokemon stayed in the lead, before abruptly veering off the trail. There was a steep drop-off, then a slope of loose gravel and a few large boulders. Several yards down the slope, Minato could see three limp bodies sitting with their backs against the slope and an all-out battle raging on around them.

A Gengar, a Haunter and two Gastlys were trying to get to the helpless humans, but a dark-colored Pokemon and two brown ones continually attacked them. Minato quickly identified them as an Umbreon, because of its glowing rings, a Hippopotas, and a Buneary. There were at least seven more Pokemon present, but it was hard to tell what they were in the darkness. It was clear that most of them were incapacitated, though.

The Umbreon pinned the Gengar down and was hitting it with a barrage of Bite attacks, while the Hippopotas went underground and the Buneary was helping out the immobile Pokemon. The Haunter and the Gastlys tried to attack the dark Pokemon from behind, but were stopped by the combined attacks of the Vulpix, Absol and Gible. The ghosts screeched in pain and faded away as they fled in a panic.

"Akiko," Minato whispered. "Hit that Gengar with a Volt Tackle."

The Raichu's Flash canceled, leaving Minato in complete as Akiko sprinted down the mountainside cloaked in crackling yellow lightning. She slammed into the Gengar, shocking it as it was knocked down the mountain. The poisonous ghost knew that it was outmatched and immediately faded away from the scene.

"Akiko, another Flash please!"

There was a burst of blinding light, which dimmed into the soft illuminating glow that he wanted. With the place properly lit, Minato could see the injured trainers and their Pokemon way better. It was a boy and two girls. They were young, wounded and unconscious. Minato was quick to identify which Pokemon belonged to whom, since the Pokemon were huddling in different groups around different trainers. Two were paralyzed, one was confused, another was asleep, and the rest were tired.

Minato sighed heavily and called out his Venusaur. "Hana, tie me up with Vine Whip, I'm going down there."

The Venusaur obediently wrapped a pair of her vines around his waist and, slowly, eased him down the unstable mountainside to the boulder. On his way to the boy, he paused to treat the Croagunk and Ralts' paralysis with a medicinal spray. The Pikachu's confusion was taken care of by the Vulpix smacking it with its six curly tails, bringing it back to reality. The Hippopotas bit the Glameow's tail, waking it up.

Upon reaching the trainers, Minato evaluated their injuries. The girls' injuries only seemed to be minor ones, but the boy was the one with the worst injuries. It looked like the boy protected his companions from getting seriously hurt. He was no doctor, but he knew enough first aid to make a decent assessment of the young trainers' conditions. The boy definitely had a head injury—his continuous unconsciousness and the dried blood caked on his face and scalp were obvious signs of that. His ragged breathing indicated cracked or broken ribs, maybe even a partially collapsed lung. Minato quickly noticed the girls' swollen limbs, probably broken bones or something.

"Poor kids," Minato muttered. "You three sure had a nasty fall, didn't you?"

They, of course, didn't reply. Minato found their bags, the zippers torn and destroyed. Right next to each of them was a pile of things. He looked through each pile carefully for some way to identify the young trainers. He found the basic supplies for any trainer, a stock of various berries, three TM cases, six used Pokeballs and several handfuls of empty Pokeballs, Great Balls, and custom painted Pokeballs. At the bottom of each pile, Minato found the trainers' Pokedexes. They were different colors. One was red, another was pink and the third was white.

Opening the devices, Minato found that the tiny screens were cracked. No matter what he tried, he couldn't get them to turn on. Without them, he had no idea on how to identify the injured trainers in front of him.

A cold chill seeped through his skin and Minato looked over his shoulder find the Haunter diving straight at him. This ghost looked to have less sense than the Gengar and it still wanted a piece of its prey. Now that it was over the shock of the combined Flamethrower, Razor Wind and Dragonbreath, it was back in a rage.

The Umbreon and Absol lunged through the darkness in a dual Faint Attack and intercepted the Haunter before it reached the unconscious children and Minato. The ghost shrieked, but it attacked again, reaching with one of its disconnected hands. Out of pure reflex, Minato hurled the nearest Pokeball—one of the boy's Great Balls—at the Haunter. Just as the Haunter was being sucked into the blue and red ball, the Umbreon hit it with a Pursuit attack, the move doing more damage than it normally did.

The atmosphere was tense as the ball sealed shut and rolled several feet down the ravine until the Croagunk caught it. The blue ball twitched in the toad's hands, the button glowing red. Then the sphere stilled and the light blinked out.

"Phew!" Minato sighed. "Whoa! That was unexpected."

The Croagunk glared at the Great Ball and lifted it arm as if to throw it and the Haunter inside away.

"No, don't do that!" Minato beckoned the poisonous fighter. "Bring it here!"

Under normal circumstances, The Great Ball, which was registered to the boy, would have been teleported away by a sophisticated satellite system. Then Minato noticed that the indigo-haired girl had seven Pokeballs. But because the Pokedexes were busted, they couldn't detect that the boy and the girl had seven Pokemon, one more than is legally allowed. Until the Pokedexes were repaired, the Haunter and the bluenette's mystery Pokemon weren't going anywhere.

Now that the threat was over, the mystery trainers' Pokemon had the time to study Minato—the strange man in their midst. The Umbreon, the Pikachu, a second Vulpix, the Glameow, the Hippopotas, the Piplup, the Ralts, the Riolu, and the Buneary watched him tensely, while the first Vulpix, the Absol and the Gible didn't care. The Croagunk stared at him uncertainly for a minute before approaching him.

Minato gently took the Great Ball from the bluish-purple toad. "I know that this Haunter hurt your trainer, but it's one of you now. Would your trainer like it if you threw it away?"

The Croagunk inflated its red cheeks red and looked away under the gentle scolding. Then Minato turned to face the unconscious trainers and their Pokemon.

"Alright, now let's get your poor masters out of here." Minato put the Great Ball into the boy's bag after covering the holes with a roll of duct tape (duct tape fixes everything), then proceeded to fix the girls' bags. Once they were temporarily fixed, Minato refilled them with the trainers' things, putting the Pokeball on top. Finally, he looked up the slope. "Hana! More vines, please!"

The Venusaur produced more vines as ordered and Minato arranged them so that they would hoist the children and their bags up to the path. With a little coaxing, Minato manage to get the kids' Pokemon back into their Pokeballs. Once the young ones were on the trail, one of the blond girls Pokeballs twitched before it opened up, unleashing an Ursaring. After he explained what happened to the confused bear, he had it carry the two girls on its shoulders while he layed the boy on Hana's back and tied him down with vines to keep him from falling of.

"Alright, Akiko, light the way one more time," Minato instructed, then patted the Venusaur's head. "Hana, let head home…"

* * *

Minato yawned loudly as he stepped out of Onsen Town's Pokemon Center. He had walked all night and arrived back to town in the early hours of the morning. After he had dropped the kids (who had remained unconscious) at the hospital, which the boy was immediately rushed into surgery and the girls were treated for their wounds, he had brought the young trainers' Pokemon to the Center to be cared for until the kids had fully recovered. Now there was one more thing he had to do before he could retreat to his half-uncle's house and get some much-needed sleep.

He made his way to a small electronics store, and waited at the front counter for the owner to appear. With the children's Pokedexes broken, there was now way to know who they were or discover their next of kin to let them know that the kids were in the hospital. Getting the devices repaired was very important.

"Ah, Minato, what a pleasant surprise. Long time no see," a gray-haired man with thick glasses greeted as he appeared from the back room. "My god! You look tired as hell!"

"I am," Minato smiled politely. He pulled out the damaged Pokedexes from his coat pocket and placed them on the glass counter. "Can you fix these for me?"

The older gentleman carefully examined the devices before nodding. "Yes. This I can definitely fix. They're not yours, are they?"

"No," Minato replied shaking his head. "They belong to a trio of young trainers that fell from one of the most dangerous trails outside of town and are out cold in the hospital. I need to get their information so I can notify their families."

"Hmmm… I see," the man nodded gravely. "It'll be a while before the repairs are complete, I'm really backed up in my repair orders. But I can retrieve the information from them in a few minutes."

That would be great," Minato smiled tiredly. "Thanks."

The repairman carried the Pokedexes into the back. "This should just take a few minutes…"

Leaning heavily against the countertop, Minato settled in to wait.

Admittedly, he was very curious about the mysterious children. When a nurse in the hospital had cleaned up the blood from the boy's face, he had been startled by how eerily the boy had resembled himself at the same age. The blond girl, Minato guessed, was the boy's twin sister, since they had similar facial features. The blonds could have doubled as his children… if he had any.

And when he had been transporting the kids to town, he had noticed the boy's collection of gym badges and the bluenette's collection of contest ribbons. It appeared to seem that the blond girl wasn't competing in neither gym battles nor Pokemon contests. Since he knew what every badge in the Star Region looked like, he instantly recognized the four badges in the boy's case. There was the reflective Mirror Badge, the circular and tailed Hurricane Badge, the beehive shaped Swarm Badge, and the cloud-looking Mist Badge. Though Minato didn't think much about contests, he recognized the girl's two ribbons as the Oasis Ribbon and the Spring Ribbon.

'So they've met Zabuza, Gen, Kurenai, Asuma, and Kakashi…' Minato tapped his fingertips on the counter in a rhythmic pattern. 'That reminds me… Kakashi keeps leaving me messages in my Champion City apartment answering machine. I really need to remember to call him back to see what he wants… Ugh what a night this has turned out to be.'

"Here we are!" the repairman declared as he returned with three computer printouts. "I should get those Pokedexes fixed in a week at the very latest. I hope those children will be alright."

"The doctors said that they are sure that they'll recover just fine," Minato said as he took the papers. "Thank you."

With information in hand, Minato left the tiny shop and headed home. Though he had been given a luxurious apartment in Champion City for being the League Champion, home would always be his uncle's house in Onsen Town. He was brought to live with his uncle up in the mountains when he was three. His uncle, Jiraiya, had only told him that his parents were great people. He never mentioned what happened to them. Sure, Jiraiya wasn't the best choice for a role model, but he did his best to raise his nephew right.

Despite being the Onsen Town gym leader, Jiraiya liked to travel. Three of four months out of the year, he would be out in the world somewhere—sometimes just beyond the mountains. And sometimes in an exotic region far, far away. So when Minato arrived at the house, he wasn't at all that surprised to find it empty.

Fighting back the fatigue, he started brewing some coffee to get a much-needed boost of energy. He placed his camping gear away and washed his dirty face. After a simple breakfast and a large cup of strong coffee, he pulled out the printouts and skimmed the information. Lucky for him, there a small black and white, but grainy, picture of the individual trainers on each page. So spread them out on the table.

The first one was the indigo-haired girl. Her name was Hinata Hyuga. He instantly recognized her last name. She was a member of a family that owned a chain of restaurants of various culinary styles. Her emergency contact was her father, Hiashi Hyuga, her mother, Hitomi Hyuga, and her uncle, Hizashi Hyuga.

With the next two, he had to do a double take. The blonds' names were the first things that got his attention. Naruko and Naruto were odd names to be sure. The matching birthdates proved he was right about them being twins. But their last name…

'She said that all her family lives in the Whirlpool Region… But they were born in Konoha Town. That's here in the Star Region. So… maybe it's a different Uzumaki family…'

But when his eyes came to stop on the twins' listed emergency contact—their mother—time seemed to freeze around him.

Frantic, he grabbed one of the papers and rushed to the videophone, almost tripping over himself in the process. He misdialed the phone number listed on the printout in his haste. When he finally got it right, he had trouble maintaining control over breathing, trying to make sure he didn't hyperventilate, while he waited for the connection to make it through.

After a few rings, there was a soft click and the screen slowly came to life…

Her hair was long, a little too long. Her face was older. But the color of her eyes, the color of her hair, and the recognition and shock on her face…

"…Did that idiot Kakashi give you my number?"

"You talked to Kakashi, but not me?"

After all these years, he finally sees her, without being able to touch her. All his old wound—the emptiness, the anger, the resentment—tore open inside of him. She had disappeared over a decade ago, after perhaps the most stupidest argument they had ever had, without a word to anybody or him… And the first person she speaks to again, after all this time, was Kakashi, the boy she could barely tolerate?

"He got my number and called me first," she replied defensively. "How did you get my number?"

Her face was pale and drawn, and she was glaring. She was guarded. It was like she was afraid of him. It made him feel sick.

"I got it from a pair of broken Pokedexes."

"A pair of broken…" Her face practically drained of color and her eyes widened in panic. "How did they get broken?"

"They probably got smashed when they tumbled down the mountain—"

"MOUNTAIN?!" she yelped, slipping straight into hysteria. "Where are Naruto and Naruko? If Hinata was with them, is she okay? Are they alright? I wanna see 'em! I wanna see my babies!"

"All three of them are in the hospital—"

"What hospital?"

"The hospital here in Onsen—"

"Okay," she mumbled in almost a whisper, turning away from the videophone pick up. "Okay… I can't tell Hiashi and Hitomi about Hinata or they'll will flip out."

Then the screen went dark.

Minato stared at the black screen for another minute. "Kushina…"

Shaking his head, he stumbled away to a couch and collapsed onto it. His mind was a jumbled mess. The pain in his heart had gotten worse.

'Why did she run away? Why didn't she tell me? Why did she hide them from me?'

He wanted to call her back and demand answers. He wanted to reach through the videophone screen and shake her until she explained herself. He wanted to grab hold of her and never let her go so that she couldn't disappear on him again.

And those kids… The kids that had fallen from the mountain trail… Those kids that the ghosts had tried to devour… Those kids he had taken to the hospital…

'…My son and daughter?'

* * *

Kushina could barely think through her panic. She paced around her house, wringing her hands and occasionally stopping to grab some random piece of clothing and toss it haphazardly into a bag. All she could think about was getting to Onsen Town, quickly.

'If I ride Mia down the Shuriken River, that will take me to Port City. From there, Onsen Town is just a train ride away. I could be there in about three days.'

With her route mapped out in her mind, she finished stuffing her bag and went to gather her Pokemon. She made a few phone calls to cancel plans with the mothers of the Konoha 12, take time off from her part-time job at the lab, and arrange for a neighbor to take care of her berry garden. And then she was out the door, barely remembering to lock it behind her.

She didn't think how she was running into everything she had been trying to hide from for so long. The dread and indecision was overridden by a single driving need. Her babies were far away and hurt, and they needed her.

'Mommy's coming. Naruko. Naruto. Mommy's coming.'

* * *

"Ugh…!"

Naruko awoke with the worst headache she had ever gotten. When she opened her eyes, she only saw the sterile white ceiling tiles of where ever she was. The bright lights were hurting her eyes. Wanting to know where she was, the blond girl sat up with a struggle as her right leg flared up in pain. When she was finally up, Naruko noticed that she was in some kind of light bluish-green robe on a bed with similar colored sheets. Looking around, she spotted two other beds and they were occupied with her traveling companions. Hinata was awake and sitting up as well and her left arm was in a cast and sling, but her brother was still down with his eyes closed and his head was wrapped up in bandages.

"You're up, Naruko," the Hyuga girl said in relief. "Thank god."

"How long have you been up?" Naruko asked. "What time is it? What the heck happened? Where are we? What's wrong with Naruto?"

Hinata sighed before she started answering her friend's questions. "I've been awake for the last three hours. It's twenty before seven. We slipped off a dangerous mountain trail. We're at the Onsen Town hospital. And Naruto got the worst of it. Do you remember anything from the fall?"

"The last thing I remember was Naruto holding us protectively."

Naruko pulled her sheet off and saw her right leg in a cast. She slowly climbed out of the bed and walked towards her brother's side.

"I see you're up as well," said a man in a white coat as he entered the room with a green-haired nurse right behind him pushing a cart with two trays of food.

"What happened?" Naruko questioned the doctor. "How did we get here?"

"Apparently, you three slipped from one of the most treacherous Kage Mountain trails," the man replied calmly. "You were rescued by a traveling trainer of this quaint little town who happened to be looking for a good camping spot. It seems that a bright red Vulpix, an Absol and a Gible led him to you."

The nurse placed a tray next to Hinata's bed and the other next to Naruko's.

"Basically, both of you girl only suffered those partially broken limbs." The doctor took a breather before continuing. "The boy here suffered severe head trauma, a few shattered ribs, and a partially collapsed left lung. He could've received severe spinal damage had his backpack not protected his back. Now eat up. You'll be here until all three of you are good to leave, which might be a while."

Naruko got back onto the hospital bed, and she and Hinata did as told, and ate the thick pea soup that was for dinner. After the same nurse came and retrieved the trays, the two girls watched some TV. At lights-out, which was at ten on the dot, they fell asleep.

* * *

Minato walked into the hospital room in which his kids and that other girl, Hinata, were placed in at around midnight. All the beds' headboards were against the same wall. The boy's bed was between the girls' beds. He pulled a chair between his son's bed and his daughter's bed. He sat there and reached for their hands.

After sitting there for thirty minutes, at which Minato was starting to doze off, he heard the groaning of the twins. The man noticed their eyes opening slowly. Even with the little light from the moon that filled the room, he could see that their eyes were the same shade of blue as his. The boy seemed to be having some sort of nightmare and the girl was reacting to her brother's distress. They seemed to notice him, so he did the only thing that popped to his mind. He stroked their head gently and whispered kindly to them.

"Go to back to sleep, my children. Your mother will be here soon…"

And they slept, and he slipped out the door.

* * *

Sunlight disturbed him and Naruto groaned. He tried to escape it, but a sharp pain was keeping him from squirming around. Then he heard an all-too familiar voice.

"Wake up, Naruto!" his sister nearly yelled. "I know you can hear me! Now get up before I embarrass you in front of Hinata!"

Blinking, Naruto managed to sit up, despite the pain shooting through his entire body. With another groan, he held his head as it began to hurt. When the pain subsided, he looked up, spotting his sister and, his girlfriend, Hinata sitting at the only table in the room, playing a board game.

"Good morning, Naruto!" Hinata greeted happily.

Naruto could only smile back, then he turned and glared at his sister.

"What were you planning to do to embarrass me, dear little sister?" he asked with a hint of malice in his voice.

"Oh I forgot," Naruko replied, not wanting to reveal her plan.

"Right…" Naruto rolled his eyes, not believing his twin at all. "Where are we?"

"We're in the Onsen Town Hospital," Hinata said cheerfully as she won against her boyfriend's sister. She got up, walked to Naruto's bed and sat down on it. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay, I guess," Naruto muttered with a shrug. "Though, it hurts to breathe too deeply."

"Well that's normal for a few shattered ribs and a partially collapsed lung," Naruko mentioned as she picked up a Star League magazine and started skimming through it. "Does anything else hurt?"

"Just my head," Naruto replied. "How'd we get here?"

"A nice traveler saved us after we'd slipped from the hiking trail we were on and brought us here," the female blond said.

"It was very lucky for us that he found us," Hinata added, taking Naruto's hand in hers, like a worried wife. "You acquired the worst injuries."

Naruto ran his fingers through his hair and felt bandages around his forehead. "Who found us?"

"We don't know," Naruko shrugged, putting her reading material down and walked back to her bed. There, she pressed a button. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Yeah, I'm starving," Naruto nodded. "How long have we been here?"

"I think it's almost four days," Hinata replied. "Though, your sister and I have up for the last three, since we only got minor injuries."

'Four days?' Naruto frowned and studied the bandages wrapped around his forearms. 'That long? …I wonder how much longer we're going to be stuck here. And where the heck are our Pokemon?'

* * *

**Done with Chapter 2 of 'Down The Slope'.**

**In case you are wondering why I put Naruto and Hinata in a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, it is because Naruto had ended his pursuit for Sakura's attention and affection in Chapter 3 of 'Reflection'.**

**I hope you guys enjoyed it. Please review, but no flames.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Down The Slope**

Chapter 3

* * *

**Okay! Here it is! The third installment of 'Down The Slope'.**

* * *

Minato sat on the makeshift swing the hung from the only tree in his uncle's house's front yard and sighed. Four days of stewing on what he had learned had not cleared his head any. If anything, he was more upset and confused. Though he was in turmoil on the inside, he just looked outwardly calmer.

He had tried calling her again a few times each day, but all he got was her answering machine. On she knew where Naruko and Naruto were, she had probably called the hospital and found out all that she needed to know. She had no need to speak with him anymore, and was probably ignoring him.

For the millionth time he reviewed their break-up… which he had not realized was a break-up at the time. She had seemed off for weeks beforehand, always cranky and fighting off some kind of virus. Then, that night, she had gotten all nasty about a girl that had flirted with him and passed him a love note with her phone number. It was stupid, he had not been the least bit interested in the girl, but Kushina kept snapping at him and pushing his buttons until it flared up into a full-blown argument. With a few nasty parting shots, she stormed off and he went to bed in their hotel room.

They had argued before, and sometimes she would get mad enough to leave. However, once she cooled down, she always came back. She rarely ever apologized when it was her fault, but she would act apologetic and that would be enough. Once or twice, she had been gone for days before turning up again.

Therefore, he had not thought that anything was unusual until she didn't show up when he had made his challenge to the Star Region' reigning League Champion, Hiruzen Sarutobi. He could not imagine that she would still be mad to have missed out on the battle. But all throughout the celebrations of his victory over Sarutobi, he never caught a glimpse of her fiery red hair anywhere.

He started making inquiries around to see if anybody had seen her. Or probably know where she was. He waited to a letter or a postcard. But weeks turned into months and months turned into years, and there was never anything at all.

Minato had feared that she was dead, then. Kushina was stubborn and hardheaded, but surely, she would have gotten over whatever had set her off and contacted him by then. She would have come back to him if she could…she always came back.

'But she was okay,' he brooded, running his hands through his hair. 'She ran away from me, had a pair of twins, and never said a word to me or anybody about it. And all over a stupid waitress that decided to get flirty with me?!'

It did not make sense. Sure, Kushina would get a little insecure whenever he was around attractive girls. But her reaction to that one-sided flirtation was completely out of proportion, irrational and uncalled for. There should had been some other reason that she had abandoned him…

'…I should have told her that I loved her.'

They had never really defined what their relationship was. He never knew when it changed until long after it had. At first, she was just some unwanted tag-along that he could not shake. Then somewhere along the way, she became a trusted friend and companion. And then somehow, for a short while, she was a lover.

'Maybe if she knew… she would not have run away. Or she would have come back.' He ran out of blades of grass in easy reach and sighed. 'Or maybe she would have run off sooner…'

A shadow fell over him.

"Where's the hospital?"

He started at the voice and jerked his head up to find—

"Kushina?!" 'She came here?!'

She looked tired and paler than before. Her red hair, which was longer than he had originally thought it had been, was pulled into a loose ponytail and the barrette that kept her bangs out of her face was almost falling out of her hair. There were shadows under here eyes, like if she had barely slept. A blue duffel bag hung haphazardly from her left shoulder. To have arrived so quickly, she must have left right after receiving his phone call.

"Where is the hospital?!" she demanded, stone-faced.

His brain had gone into overdrive and got too jumbled to respond. She was actually here, not behind some screen and miles away. He could touch her if he wanted to. All he had to do was—

She grabbed him by his long, blond locks and pulled. "Where. The. Hell. Is. The. Hospital?!"

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Okay, okay! I'll take you there!" he yelped.

"Then do it," she growled, releasing her painful iron grip.

"Okay," he gulped and, after taking her bag and tossing it inside the house, he led her to the hospital.

They walked in silence, side-by-side, towards the hospital on the opposite side of the hot spring resort town. Normally, he would not mind, but she would be bothered by the quiet and find something to talk about. Now the roles were reversed—she did not seem to have anything to say, but he could not stand the silence.

"Why'd you leave?" he quietly asked.

Her eyes were fixed on the path ahead of her. "I don't wanna talk about it right now."

"When are we gonna talk about it?" he demanded, grabbing her arm, forcing her to stop with him.

"Not right now," she ground out. "Now take me to the hospital, or I'll find someone who will."

He glared at her, but let go of her arm and continued on to the hospital. "Why didn't get in touch with me? Why didn't you tell me about Naruko and Naruto?"

When she didn't respond, he started venting out his frustration.

"Why didn't you write? I know that that's how you keep in touch with your family, so why not write to me? Do I mean so little to you?"

Still nothing.

No matter what he asked, she still had no reaction, so he wondered if she was hearing that he had said. He threw all sorts of sharp questions and bitter comments at her, trying to get a response as well as releasing everything that he'd bottled up. He tried to get her talking with meaningless questions, like why had she decided to grow out her hair after keeping it so short for so long. But she just followed his lead in uncharacteristic stoic silence.

"…I missed you. Did you miss me at all?"

"Please," she said softly, her voice wavering and watery. "Shut up. I just want to see them and then go to sleep. I haven't slept since…I don't know."

Minato bit his bottom lip and tentatively looped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side. "They'll be okay. If hadn't hung up on me, or called the hospital, you'd know that already. Naruko only suffered a sprained leg, and Naruto got a concussion and a few fractured ribs by trying to protect his sister and the other girl during their fall. They'll be okay."

She buried her face into his shoulder and cried wholeheartedly. He stood frozen in place for a moment before he carefully embraced her. It felt awkward. It had just been so long since they had had any sort of physical contact with each other.

He found it all extremely unnerving, since Kushina rarely cried. Usually when she did cry, it would be only a few tears that had managed to escape her eyes and then she would pull herself together. Kushina was a tough girl and refused to turn into a sissy crybaby. It was way beyond bizarre to have her weeping and vulnerable like this.

"Kushina…" he mumbled into her hair with eyes closed, just happy to have her in his arms again.

"…I'm sorry…" she choked out through her crying. "…I'm sorry… that I-I-I'm so stupid… and c-c-cowardly… and s-stubborn…"

"Shhh… there, there Kushina," Minato soothed her. "You're just tired. Let's go see Naruko and Naruto, and get you to bed."

"Okay," she sniffed, pulling away to wipe her eyes with shaking hand. "Okay, let's go."

The rest of the way, they walked with little conversation as he held her. It took them a few minute to reach the hospital. Before Kushina could ask for directions, Minato told her where to go.

"You stay here," she commanded him. "Since they don't know that you're their father, I don't want them to get any worse by telling them the truth about us right now. I'd rather wait 'til they're out of here."

"I understand," he nodded with a calm demeanor. "Go comfort them. I'll watch from here."

With a simple kiss on the forehead from him, she headed for the room's door, which was only a few feet way. Once she entered, Kushina saw her kids and Hinata sitting around a table playing a board game. And it appeared that Naruto was winning.

"Is this a private party or can anybody join?" she asked, getting their attention.

"Mom!" Naruto and Naruko said together before rushing to hug her.

"Miss Uzumaki!" Hinata yelped before she also rushed the woman.

Kushina felt that she should have been surprised by Hinata's hug, but she wasn't. She then released them from the hug. Outside the room, Minato sat in a chair next to the door and listened to their conversation, but not before grabbing a bag of chips, a pastry and a soda from the vending machines that were nearby.

"I was so worried about you guys," she mentioned, then faced the indigo-haired girl. "I was also worried about you too, Hinata."

"You didn't tell my parents about this?" Hinata wondered worryingly. "If they found out about this, they would make me end my journey."

"Don't worry, Hinata," Kushina replied, rubbed the Hyuga's head, calming the girl down. "I didn't say anything about this to them."

All three trainers gave a sigh of relief. Just being with her babies reenergized her.

"Don't bother telling me about the accident, because I don't wanna know," the woman informed. "Just tell me how your journey has been."

They told her about their journey, the Pokemon they've caught, which ones evolved, their victories, their losses, and their hardships. Hinata even told her about her Registeel, since Kushina never really followed contests, which surprised both Kushina and Minato, causing him to almost choked on a handful of chips. Minato enjoyed listening about his children's adventures through the Star Region. He kind of frowned when Naruto explained his troubles with his Vulpix, Cherry, though he praised the rest of his Pokemon team. Naruko was now telling her mother about their stay with Icecap Town gym leader and how Zabuza taught them how snowboard and ski.

"…and after our snowboarding lesson, and some of Haku's delicious hot chocolate with unlimited marshmallows, I over heard Naruto ask Hinata to be his girlfriend, to which she said yes."

Both said trainers' faces turned beet red upon the revealing of that information. Kushina didn't mind though, since she knew about Hinata's crush on Naruto. 'It's about frickin' time he answered her feelings.'

In the hallway, Minato was struggling to keep himself from bursting into a fit of incontrollable laughter. All he could manage was a low snickering. 'So young, and he already has a girlfriend. I just hope he doesn't make the same mistake I did.' Then he heard Kushina say something that really shocked him into complete silence.

"Well, Hinata, I really don't mind having you as my future daughter-in-law." The redheaded woman gave the bluenette a sincere smile. "And I'm sure that Naruko doesn't being your sister-in-law."

"Nah, I wouldn't mind," Naruko agreed with her mother.

After another hour of idle chitchat, a nurse came in pushing a cart with food.

"Excuse me ma'am," the green-haired woman interrupted the happy group. "Visiting hours are over for today, and these three patients need to have their supper."

At the mention of the food, all three kids groaned, not wanting to eat the hospital food. This caused Kushina to giggle and Minato to snicker. Understanding that it was time for her to go, she turned to face her kids and their friend.

"Now, you three behave, eat your food, do as the doctors and nurses say and I'll be back tomorrow," she said, promisingly.

With a synced nod from them, she left the room, meeting Minato outside. The trip back to his uncle's was quiet again. She did seem to be happy to have seen her… their children again. He had to hold on to her to keep her from tripping herself. Once they made it to the two-story house, Minato guided her towards his bedroom, and she immediately collapsed onto the bed, already deep asleep

Minato sighed before slipping her shoes off and pulling the covers over her.

"What am I gonna do with you?"

Being that she was asleep, she didn't answer him.

But the question still remained. Should he forgive her? Or should he keep walking?

She had run off with no warning and left him to worry for a little over a decade. She had never told him about Naruto and Naruko, and he had to wonder if she was going to tell him. And so he missed everything—the twins' births, their smile, their first words, their first steps, their first everything—and not even known that he would had anything to miss.

And yet… he was so relieved to see her again. To see that was alright and not hurt of dead somewhere. She was with him once more, if only for a little while. And the sense that he was missing something, or in this case, someone, important that had been nagging at him forever was gone. Now that she was here, he could get the answers he needed.

He really should wash his hand of her. But the idea made him squirm and shiver, and he couldn't simply decide what he really wanted.

'I really need to clear my head right now.' Sighing, he brushed her bangs from her face and left the house heading for the Pokemon Center. 'I need to swap out Kyuubi for Blair, and maybe check how their Pokemon are doing. A good ride should help me…'

* * *

When Kushina woke up, it took her a minute to realize where she was. Sleep had been all but impossible on the way to Onsen Town. Everytime she closed her eyes her imagination would throw horrible images at her—Naruto and Naruko, hurt, broken, bleeding—and she would be forced awake to escape them. Almost four straight days with no sleep left her mind fuzzy, her thought clouded, and her recollections of the trip hazy at best.

She was obviously in Minato's room from his childhood in Jiraiya's house. It was still a little boy's room with faded posters taped on the wall, a small bed with Pokeball-print sheets and shelves lined with dusty books and toys. Jiraiya didn't bother with fixing the room, and left it as it was when Minato started his journey.

What she had done to land herself here made her cringe.

'I'm mean to him. I give him the silent treatment, and then I cry all over his shoulder. And then there all the stuff I didn't tell him, not to mention ditching him all those years ago…'

She buried her face in her hand and groaned.

'I guess I'm lucky that he's so nice. If I were him, I would've made me sleep in a hotel… or outside.' She shivered and hugged herself. 'But he's definitely mad at me… I woke up alone.'

Shaking her head, she skulked out his room. She had slept for whatever was left of the day yesterday and all night, making it early morning. Neither Minato, nor Jiraiya seemed to be awake, or around, and that made her relax as she slipped into the shower. Of course, in her rush to pack and get to Onsen Town, she had forgotten to pack any toiletries, so she was stuck using Jiraiya's supplies.

'At least with his long hair, he has good shampoo and conditioner.' She smirked slightly as she washed. 'I'm sure that his hair is longer than mine. Now that I think about it, I think Naruko's hair is also longer than mine…'

Clean, and in a fresh change of clothes, she headed down the stairs to face Minato.

Minato was passed out on the swamp-themed living room couch. It looked like he had spent whole night there instead of sleeping with her, or in his uncle's room. When she crept up to him, she noticed that he smelled like smoke.

'He hasn't picked up smoking, has he?' She frowned at the thought. 'I'll kick his ass if he did, because then Naruto and Naruko will want to, too.'

A faint orange glow that had nothing to do with the sunrise brought her attention to one of the front windows. Picking outside, she found Blair the Rapidash placidly grazing on the front lawn, a bridle and reins still fastened to her head. She wore no saddle as Minato always rode her bareback. A saddle was just too big and bulky to carry on the road, and a pain to remove for using her in battle, so Minato had never used one.

'Oh, he was just out riding.'

Kushina took a minute to run her fingers through Minato's hair before slipping into the kitchen. The fridge and cupboards were filled with bachelor food—frozen TV dinners and anything that was "instant". However, she did find some still-good milk, non-moldy bread, eggs, and bacon. So she started making breakfast for two. If Jiraiya was here, he would have to make his own breakfast.

Halfway through her cooking, Minato shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing the gritty sleep from his eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she replied, eyes fixed on the frying pan. "I'm making breakfast."

"You… really don't have to do that."

She took a moment to take control of her temper, because she really had no business getting mad at him, before responding. "Learning how to cook is one of the benefits of becoming a mom. I swear that you won't suffer from food poisoning this time."

He didn't say anything, and eventually, she heard the scraping sound of him pulling a chair out. "So… did you sleep well?"

"I slept like a corpse," she answered humorously. "What about you? You could've taken your uncle's bed instead of sleeping on the couch."

'I will never sleep in his bed," Minato swore. "Who knows how many of his 'dates' had ended the day there?"

Kushina shuddered at that. She did not want to know what Jiraiya did in there.

"Point," she agreed and dished up the cooked bacon and eggs on two plastic plates. "Very good point." The bread popped out of the toaster and she added the slices to the plates before bringing them to the table. "You know, you could've made me sleep on the floor while you kept the bed to yourself."

"You don't make guests sleep on the floor," Minato shrugged and eyed his plate suspiciously.

"You're too polite, Sunshine," she muttered as she sprinkled some salt and pepper onto her scrambled eggs "You know that I don't deserve it."

Kushina clapped her hands together and said grace. She was the first to eat. When Minato saw that the food was not toxic, he tentatively consumed his own food. It was only when they had finished and Kushina started doing the dishes that they started talking again.

"Speak already," she muttered as she scrubbed madly at the skillet. "You had like a ton of questions yesterday."

"Alright," he sighed. "Why'd you leave?"

"I was afraid," she mumbled. "You were close to achieving your dream, and getting famous. I was barely seventeen and that morning I'd just found out that… that I was pregnant. I was a basket case and I used that argument as an excuse to run. Of course, I couldn't outrun this problem. It just went with me wherever I ran to."

"…You thought of them as a problem?"

"At the time, yes I did," she nodded slowly. "A baby was the last thing that I wanted, or was ready for, let alone two. I didn't know anything about babies. I was scared out of my mind."

"You didn't have to keep them."

Kushina shot him a glare. "I'm gonna pretend that I didn't hear you say that."

The blonde man flinched at her look. "Yeah… Were you ever going to tell me about them?"

"I… I really don't know," she said, dropping her eyes into the sudsy sink.

"What kind of answer is that?" Minato demanded sharply.

"It's my answer!" she shot back. "When Naruto and Naruko were born, all I could think of was how to take care of them and not royally screw it up. They were three years old when I finally had time to myself and think about other things. I was scared that I'd waited too long, that you'd be angry with me for not telling you what was going on right away." She turned completely away from him, unable to look at his face. "I could never make up my mind on what I should do. So I did nothing. I was afraid that you'd hate me."

He stayed silent for what felt like forever. "…Do they know anything about me?"

"Nothing beyond what they'd seen on TV," she replied silently. "I could never think of any way to explain myself. I could never decide what to tell them. So I never gave them any details about my old adventures, or any of the people I used to run with. And… I just didn't want to remember."

"… I see…" His voice cold, causing her to shiver. "I'm going to go take a shower. You go do what you want. That's what you always do."

Kushina didn't dare move until he had vanished upstairs to take his shower. When she heard the bathroom door slam close, she hurried out of Jiraiya's house. She paused only long enough to pet Blair before she hurried off to the hospital and her twins.

* * *

Not even the icy blast of the cold water in the shower helped cool Minato's raging emotions. He was feeling so many different emotions at the same time that it was difficult sorting them out. He didn't know if he wanted to curse, or cry, or just scream until he lost his voice.

'I need another ride.'

Hair still wet from the shower, and his shirt sticking to his damp torso, he jogged out to his Rapidash, who was still staring down the street. Kushina had probably headed to go see Naruto and Naruko. He clenched his jaw and approached the fiery unicorn.

"Blair, I need another ride."

The horse Pokemon eyed him for a moment and turned so that he could climb aboard easier.

Minato vaulted onto her back and immediately urged her into a full gallop. Soon, they were racing through the forest and down the mountain at a blistering pace. Blair's blazing mane practically blinded him, but he could care less. All that mattered was that he was going fast.

The only thing that made him reckless was probably his love for speed. He had always loved to run, or ride something fast. His uncle started jokingly calling him the Yellow Flash. As soon as Kushina had heard about it, she added it to her long list of nicknames for him. And it just spread from there. Now it was something of an unofficial title glued on to his name. As many of his battles were over quickly and decisively.

'She never told me… She never told me… And all because she was afraid and indecisive?!'

Blair tossed her head and leapt over a ravine, but the thrill of the jump was lost to him.

'I was right about her since the day I've first met her,' he thought bitterly. 'I'm cursed with her memory forever and ever… If only I could forget.'

* * *

Kushina walked into the hospital room and saw Naruto, Naruko and Hinata eating what looked like plain oatmeal for breakfast. She could tell that they did not like the blandness of their morning meal. They didn't seem to notice her when she walked in there, since they were too busy watching a football game, the Gyarados at the Golems. It was obvious on who they were rooting for, since Naruko was a die-hard Gyarados fan. It was the last quarter and the Gyarados were winning, 52-12, getting a touchdown with an interception for the current score.

Naruto was the first one to notice her.

"Mom!" he yelped, almost jumping out of the bed.

Naruko and Hinata turned to face the red-haired woman.

Kushina smiled at them. "Good morning. How are you three feeling?"

"Okay," Naruto shrugged.

"By the way, mom, how did you find out we were here?" Naruko wondered since the day before.

"I got a phone call that you were hurt, so I came right over," she explained, taking a seat between the twins.

"You didn't have to," Naruto said, emptying his bowl. "We're okay."

"Well, I just had to see for myself," Kushina said and ruffled her son's hair. "Now tell me, have you been behaving yourselves?"

"Yeah," all three kids said at once.

Then Naruko remembered something. "Hey mom? Do you know where our stuff is? And our Pokemon?"

"I'm sure that the hospital staff is holding on to your things until they release you," her mother answered. "And your Pokemon should be waiting for you at the Pokemon Center. We'll go get them as soon as you get out of here. I want to meet all your little Pokemon in person."

"Okay," Hinata scratched the back of her head. "Miss Uzumaki… how long will you stay?"

"ALRIGHT! THE GYARADOS WIN ANOTHER!" Naruko let out when the game was over with.

"As long as you three need me to," she smiled. "Maybe I'll even stick around to see Naruto's gym challenge. It's been a while since I've seen one of those."

Naruto gulped nervously at that. "Really?"

"Calm down! I'm not that scary, am I? Besides," Kushina got up and leaned in to kiss his bandaged forehead, "your poor lonely mother needs something to do."

"Mom!" Naruto groaned and wiped the spot where his mother had kissed. "…Fine. You can watch."

This caused Naruko and Hinata to burst out laughing, getting the attention of a nurse that was passing by the open door.

Kushina grinned. "Aw, thank you!"

Naruto half-grinned as he scratched his bandaged left wrist.

'I just hope that she doesn't embarrass me in front of the gym leader…'

* * *

**Done! I'm finished with the third installment of 'Down The Slope'.**

**Sorry if Kushina's first visit to the hospital seemed a little cheesy and weak. And the football reference (American Football, The NFL. Not the round, black and white ball), well, who doesn't like football. I love the blitz plays and seeing a quarterback be sacked. Though I live in California, I wholeheartedly root for the Indianapolis Colts. WOO! GO COLTS! Anyway… I think I've been watching too much 'Teen Mom' and I just can't stop. And no, I don't a have a problem.**

**Just leave your reviews please and shout-out to your favorite NFL team. I am not a hater, unless it comes down to the Oakland Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers, the Dallas Cowboys, and the New England Patriots.**

**Oops, sorry for the babbling.**

**So… SEE YA! (no personal flames please)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Down The Slope**

Chapter 4

* * *

**ALRIGHT! It's time for the fourth installment of 'Down The Slope'.**

* * *

When Jiraiya walked through his front door, he was greeted with the sight of his beloved nephew sprawled out over the couch facedown. It was always wonderful to get a visit from Minato. Especially now that he was getting to be so reclusive, trekking into the distant wilderness just to avoid people whenever he could. But Jiraiya had never encountered the younger man in such a state.

"Er... Minato?"

The blonde man grunted, but otherwise, had no reaction.

Jiraiya dropped his suitcase by the door and walked up to Minato to poke him on the shoulder. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Minato sighed and rolled over on to his side. "How was your trip?"

"It was pretty good," Jiraiya grinned, taking a seat on the couch's armrest. "I headed down to Port City and caught a nice cruise to a region called Sinnoh. You should've seen the babes on that boat! There was one chick who would've given Tsunade a good run for her money!" The white-haired man laughed fondly at the memory.

"Anyway, when we reached our destination, I met one of that region's gym leaders. I almost thought that it was you for a minute! But when the arrogant brat opened his mouth, I could tell it wasn't you at all. If I remember correctly, I think his name was Volkner or something. I bet it's some kind of nickname, 'cause it sounds too stupid to be real. Have you ever heard of him before?"

"I think I've seen his name in this year's edition of the guide to every Pokemon league in the world," Minato answered dully.

Jiraiya frowned at his nephew. "…Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I just had a bad week," the blonde responded.

"Oh?" Jiraiya prompted.

"I really don't wanna talk about it," Minato answered.

"Alright then. I kept my eyes open for Kushina, but I didn't see her anywhere."

Minato's jaw tensed. "I know where she is."

"Eh?!" the older man blinked. "…You do?!"

"Yes…" the younger man grimaced.

It took a moment for Jiraiya to reorganize his thoughts. "Where is she?!"

"Right now, probably visiting the hospital."

"The hospital?!" Jiraiya nearly choked.

Minato abruptly got off the couch and stalked towards the door. "I'm going for a ride."

"But… What—"

The whole house shook as the front door slammed closed and Minato was gone.

Jiraiya scratched his messy white hair. 'I think I'm missing something here…'

"…Wel…" he said to the air. "I'm not going to find any answers sitting here. Maybe little Kushina will be a little bit more enlightening."

And so he headed for the hospital.

* * *

Hinata, Naruko and Naruto frowned as they dug through the boxes that the nurse had brought them. They were supposed to contain their "personal effects". But as they went through the stuff, they found that a few of their things were missing.

The clothes that they had been wearing on their way to Onsen Town were gone. One of the three pricey Great Balls that Naruto had purchased in Icecap Town was missing, as well as one of Hinata's twelve regular Pokeballs. Their backpacks weren't there. And their Pokedexes were nowhere to be found. Even the Super Rods were gone. At least their shoes and belts were still in there.

While their old bags were gone, there were brand new ones that still had the plastic ties on it that would have attached the price tag. Naruto's new bag was a white-and-blue backpack, Naruko's was a forest camo single-strapped pack, and Hinata's was a lavender-and-yellow messenger bag. When they opened them, they found a few of t heir old things in there. Naruko found the Ursaring keychain she had purchased in Spring City and immediately clipped it to a key ring on the backpack. Hinata found her house key and her purple diary with a three pencils. And Naruto found all the patches he had acquired through his journey and ironed onto his old bag. With a sigh, they started arranging their thing into their new bags. Naruko was glad that her new backpack wasn't pink, or she would have gotten mad.

Kushina had left earlier to buy a few things and was now back. She was now back and was carrying three shopping bags, some papers, and a small orange bottle with a white cap and label. She then emptied the bags and handed the contents to the trio. It was several changes of clothes.

"So, was everything in there?"

"No," the trio said in unison.

Then Naruto looked up at his mother. "What's in the bottle?"

"Painkillers for your ribs," she told him. "What's missing?"

They listed the things and showed her the mysterious new bags.

"Well… I'd heard that your Pokedexes were damaged… so they're probably in some repair shop. We can track them down later. And I'm sure that your clothes were destroyed in your fall from the trail. And the Pokeball and Great Ball could've been lost then." She fingered Naruto's mystery backpack. "…I guess these are replacements for your old bags." Then she turned her attention to the clothes she had just purchased. "…And these are replacements for your ruined outfits."

"I think I just remembered what happened to my missing Pokeball." Hinata was scratching her chin.

"Really? What?" Naruko asked.

"I threw it at that Metagross that was tussling with those mountain-Pokemon."

"Mom," Naruto turned to his mother. "Where do you think these bags came from?"

"He probably bought them after bringing you here," Kushina muttered, as if to herself.

"He?" Naruko frowned with a raised eyebrow.

"Let's get you three out of these hospital pajamas," the woman smiled, firmly changing the subject. "I'll get you some new fishing poles later, though it will be difficult to find some Super Rods."

Kushina closed the door and pulled the curtains on either side of Naruto's bed to give the girls some privacy as they changed. She helped Naruto, as he was having trouble lifting his arms too high. After a few minutes, they were changed and Kushina put the curtains back in their original spot near the wall. She then frowned at what she saw.

"You three have been growing," she remarked. "I thought these weren't going to fit you at all. How are your shoes feeling?'

"Fine," Naruto replied.

"Not too tight or anything," Naruko answered.

"They're okay," Hinata said.

"Hmmm… We can wait on getting you guys some new shoes, but we'll have to find some more clothes."

"No!" the twins said together. "I hate shopping."

Hinata giggled lightly at her boyfriend's and his sister's antics.

"Too bad. It's a necessary evil." Kushina sighed and looked at the three you trainers and eyed them in their new outfits as they climbed off the beds.

Naruto sported an orange-and-black vest over a blue t-shirt, and a pair of orange denim jeans. Naruko wore a reddish orange t-shirt under a black-and-blue vest and a pair of regular blue jeans. Hinata was in a white t-shirt with a grayish-purple jacket over it and a pair of black pants with white striped running down the sides of the legs. Naruto and Naruko both sported red coats that reached a bit over their ankles and black flames decorated them along the bottom. The trio together new goggles, but they were the same. They were still high-grade, but they were blue-framed and black-lensed.

"Seriously, mom," Naruko motioned to the red trench coats. "What's with the matching jackets?"

"We thought you were over that habit," Naruto said.

"Nope!" Kushina said proudly. "Never was! Never will be! Now let's get you three out of here and find your teams."

The woman finished loading their things into their new bags as they slipped on their belts, sneakers and goggles, then they trudged after her through the hospital hallways and out into the bright sunlight. She led the way to the Pokemon Center, carrying her son's bag so that he would not aggravate his sore ribs. They had barely gone a block when their trek was interrupted.

"Kushina?"

She stopped short and looked over her shoulder at a towering man with long white hair, a weird looking grey headband around his head and red lines tattooed vertically on his cheeks. He was an older man and had made himself even taller with a pair of old-style wooden platform sandals. The man also seemed to favor older style clothes—drab green clothes and a red haori-looking vest—which made him look like some crazy mountain-man hermit.

"…What do you want, Jiraiya?" she growled, glaring at the man.

"You grew your hair out?" the man sputtered in disbelief.

"Mom/Miss Uzumaki," the trio of kids called to the woman, with the blonde twins pulling on the sleeves of their mother's faded yellow jacket. "Do you know this man?"

"Mom?!" the white haired man yelped, his eyes immediately darting down to Naruto and to Naruko, completely ignoring the Hyuga girl. And then his face paled and his jaw dropped After a long stare that made the twins squirm, the man jerked his eyes back at their mother. "Y-y-you-you slept with him?!"

"Why don't you just shout that from the frickin' rooftops?" Kushina muttered bitterly at the man.

"But you… and he… and… wait what?"

"…Come back when you have that's understandable to say to me," their mother grumbled and took their hands. "In the meantime, we have better things to do."

The strange, white-haired red-coated man kept sputtering as the four of them continued on for several blocks towards the Pokemon Center.

"Miss Uzumaki, who was that man?" Hinata ask curiously, as she followed closely behind her traveling companions and their, now annoyed, mother.

"That, Hinata, was Jiraiya," the redhead muttered tensely. "He's the gym leader here and probably the biggest pervert in the world. He was off on his annual vocational trip… but I guess he's back now."

"You know this gym leader too, mom?" Naruko asked, pulling free from her mother hold.

"Yes," her mother nodded.

Naruto tilted his head in a curious manner. "How many gym leaders do you know?"

"Only a few others," she answered. "It has been a long time since I'd been on the road so I don't know how many of the gym leaders that I challenged are still in the game. Tsunade and Orochimaru are for sure, but as for the rest… I don't know."

"Oh."

The rest of their walk to the Pokemon Center was quietly uneventful, but a bit slow. It took a little while to get the Nurse Joy at the counter to retrieve their Pokemon, as they didn't have their Pokedexes to prove their identities and they weren't the ones that had checked them in. But eventually, they were brought three trays with all of their Pokeballs on them… and Naruto's missing Great Ball and Hinata's Pokeball.

Picking up the white-and-blue and red-and white balls, they felt slightly heavier, indicating that there was something in them. But, if there was something in them, they would count as their seventh Pokemon to each of them both. And they should have automatically teleported to Professor Sarutobi's shortly after being captured. Naruto was left scratching his head and Hinata realized what the only possible thing in her Pokeball could be as Kushina led them away from the counter so that other trainers could submit their Pokemon.

"Well, if you captured it after your Pokedexes were broken, then they wouldn't get sent away," Kushina explained as they were sitting on some of the couches near the automatic sliding front doors. "So, until your Pokedexes are repaired and reset, those Pokemon and anything else you might catch in the meantime won't go anywhere. Or you can manually send it off through the PC.

"…But I don't remember catching anything," Naruto muttered with a frown as he eyed the Great Ball with suspicion. "I can barely even remember the fall."

"I think my attempt at the Metagross was successful," Hinata said as her voice shook with anticipation to see it.

"Well congrats, Hinata," Naruko said as she hugged the pale-eyed girl. Then she turned to her brother. "Maybe if you let it out and see what it is, you'll remember."

"Maybe…" Naruto muttered dubiously.

"Well, I want to see all your creatures," his mother grinned, getting to her feet. "Seeing them through the videophone is one thing, but seeing them in person is way better."

"Okay," the three trainers agreed eagerly.

"Guys?"

The trio turned their heads and saw a familiar girl.

"Sakura," Naruko blinked.

"You cut your hair?" Hinata asked, a little shocked.

"Yeah," she winced and self-consciously brushed at her now shoulder-length pink hair. "I got something really sticky in it that I couldn't wash out, so I had to cut it. So, watcha think?"

"…It looks good," Naruto said nonchalantly. "But whatever floats your boat." Naruto just didn't care anymore.

The pinkette wrinkled her nose. "…Thanks, I guess I—" She did a double-take when she spied the blondes' mother sitting near them. "Mrs. Uzumaki?!"

"We've been over this repeatedly, I'm not married," the red-haired woman sighed tiredly. "I've told you that dozens of times, Sakura. I'm 'Miss Uzumaki' or Miss Kushina', but never 'Mrs. Uzumaki'.

"Eep, sorry," Sakura squeaked in embarrassment.

"Your mother's here, idiot?" Sasuke snorted, appearing from behind the pinkette. "…And what happened to your face?"

"Yeah," Sakura blinked with a concerned look. "What did happen to you? It looks like you got beat up by somebody."

Naruto sighed. "Naruko, Hinata and I fell from a mountain trail, and I held on to them to protect them," he muttered.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted.

"Really?" Sakura asked and the two girls nodded. "You could've really hurt yourself."

"I did." Naruto slumped as low as his throbbing ribs could allow. "I got the worst of it. Naruko just received a sprained leg and Hinata had a twisted wrist."

"That explains why your mother is here," Sasuke said sparing the woman a nod that was too quick to be completely polite.

"What the…" Naruko muttered as she noticed something. "Where is that overly pale freak Sai?"

When they encountered their old classmates back in Shinobi City, Sasuke, Sakura, and Sai were traveling partners. Naruto's group headed straight for Storm City straight after he had earned the Mirror Badge from Kakashi and they had not run into the trio since. It was nice to see them again, they just wished that they had not shown up when they were such a mess. It was embarrassing.

"He went on his way after Storm City," Sasuke muttered.

"He got a phone call and told us that is was time he went his own way, and then he just left," Sakura shrugged.

"Weird," Naruto and Hinata frowned.

"I always did think that boy was a strange one," Kushina muttered. "I would bet my money that it was his uncle that called him and told him what to do. Danzo did always have the boy on a tight leash from what I could see."

"Do you and Hinata both have seven Pokeballs there?" Sasuke asked, frowning as he spied the extra Great Ball and Pokeball on their laps.

"Our Pokedexes got busted," the blonde girl shrugged with annoyance.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes on the three collections of minimized spheres. "What do you have?"

Kushina notice that Naruto was struggling to figure out how to tell the black-haired boy that he did not know what his seventh was.

"Why don't we go outside? Maybe get some fresh air even?" Kushina abruptly suggested as he stepped in with a smile. "I know the perfect place to let all your Pokemon out for a little exercise."

* * *

After a quick lunch in an out-of-the-way diner that was apparently owned by the Hyuga family, Kushina led the five of them to a small mountain meadow a few minutes walk out of town. There was a stream that was wide enough and deep enough for a Gyarados to swim around comfortably running through it. The place was just as the twins' mother promised it would be.

"Alight!" the red-haired woman clapped her hand and released her Vaporeon and Feraligatr. "Let's what we've got!"

They trio decided to go by seniority and set Cherry, Sunset and Spray loose first. The pair of Vulpix looked at their trainers, looked to their mother, glanced briefly at Sakura and Sasuke, and once they spotted Mermaid, they ran and curled up next to her. Sakura produced her Bulbasaur and Sasuke released his Charmander. Except that the little Charmander had evolved since Naruko, Hinata and Naruto had seen it, so it was now a slightly larger, fierce looking Charmeleon.

From there, Naruto set free Han. The Pikachu was surprised to see his trainer's mother there in the flesh and not behind a video screen, but she soon had him in her lap and relaxed from under her soothing touch. Naruko brought out her Glameow, Gloss, which curled up on her lap. Hinata unleashed Knives the Registeel and it was just standing there behind the girl. Sakura freed her Wurmple, which was now a fully evolved Beautifly that happily fluttered around, examining the meadow's flowers. Sasuke sent out his Shinx, which was now a smug-looking Luxio, and the electric-type sneered at the Pikachu relaxing under the older Uzumaki's soothing touch.

Next came Flo, the most powerful Luvdisc in the Star Region, Serpent, the second Gyarados in the Uzumaki family, and Kunoichi, the extremely hyperactive Ralts. Their mother almost dropped Han in a hurry to fuss over the magnificent blue water snake, but she still made time to compliment the pink heart. She was so distracted by the two water-types, she barely noticed Sakura' tiny pink Happiny or Sasuke's Staravia. Naruko grinned, glad with her show-stealing monster.

The next round had Sasuke releasing his Bagon, Sakura sending out her Cherubi, which was now a Cherrim, and it was wearing a Heat Rock collar and immediately used Sunny Day, Naruko calling out Lady Luna the Ursaring and she fist bumped the Registeel, Hinata unleashed Duke the Riolu. Naruto set free Shadow… or what should have been Shadow. He stared blankly at the Umbreon that sat calmly in front of him.

"Cool! Shadow evolved in an Umbreon!" Naruko exclaimed, almost jumping and dislodging the Glameow from her lap.

"Er…" The Umbreon walked right up to Naruto and rubbed its head against his cheek. "I… guess…"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "You guess?"

"It must have happened not long after you guys fell," his mother suggested, trying to prevent an argument between the two boys, while Mermaid got herself acquainted with what she might have become had she not been exposed to Water Stone.

"How could you forget one of your Pokemon evolving just because you tumbled off some mountain trail?" Sakura asked skeptically.

"We were knocked out," Naruko pouted, protecting her brother from the pinkette's criticism. "We all woke up in the hospital"

"Can we continue introducing the Pokemon?" Hinata asked, not wanting a fight to start.

"Sure," Naruto gave her a sincere smile that surprised Sasuke and Sakura. "Alright, who's next?"

Sahara the Vibrava made a dramatic entrance, doing eccentric aerial maneuvers like a fighter plane avoiding an enemy plane and came down slowly, landing like a helicopter. Heart the Buneary jumped into the air and landed on top of Hinata's head with the posture of a gymnast. Sherman the Hippopotas just yawned and started napping next to his master. Sakura set out a fluffy little Eevee of her own and it quickly trotted over to Mermaid and Shadow. Sasuke released a Sneasel that looked ready to pick a fight with anybody.

"Did you guys walk through the desert?" Sakura asked after seeing the two ground types. "You can only find those there."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "It was after we left Desert City. And I couldn't get the badge there, since the gym was being repaired after Sasuke trashed it."

"We came across three Pokemon fight over food, so we caught them," Hinata continued. Naruto caught the Trapinch, which evolved during his challenge at the Icecap Town Gym, Naruko capture the Hippopotas, and I got a Gible."

"We even learned how to snowboard and ski while we were in Icecap," Naruko admitted proudly. "Did you tough it out to reach Desert City?"

"No," Sakura shook her head. "We caught a bus heading there."

With that, they continued the Pokemon introductions. Reaper the Croagunk came out striking a fighting pose. Torpedo the Gible was hopping wildly causing Hinata to start giggling. Rixie the Absol followed her ground-type teammate's example and started napping. A Zubat was provided by Sasuke and a rather angry-looking Mankey was unleashed by Sakura."

"Did you get that in a swamp," Sakura asked, pointing at the poisonous fighter.

"Nah," Naruto said. "I acquired Reaper as a prize for beating Mighty Guy at 'Good Guy's Fighting Dojo in Spring City. We met Hinata's cousin, Neji, and Hinata won her second ribbon there."

"Prize?" Sakura was confused.

"Yeah," Naruko nodded. "If you beat a student there, you get advanced stuff as Full Restore and the like. Beating a dojo assistant will get you some stat enhancing minerals, such as Protein and Carbos. And victory over Mighty Guy would get you a random fighting-type Pokemon by luck-of-the-draw and three TMs of your choice. They have every TM known to man."

"Naruko did a marathon of battles and won them all. I beat Mighty Guy, getting Reaper. And Hinata challenged her cousin and lost." Naruto took a deep breath. "Sasuke wasn't the only one that wanted Knives. After Hinata won the contest, many trainers and coordinators offered to trade."

"And I refused them all," Hinata said.

"Hn," Sasuke growled

"Can we see what your sevenths are now?" Sakura was anxious.

Naruto and Hinata picked up the last balls and looked at each other before nodding. Hinata went first and like she had guessed, it was the Metagross from almost a week ago. She raised her hand up, indicating that she meant no harm to it and it let itself be touched by the bluenette. Hinata's second powerhouse Pokemon rendered her two classmates, but not her traveling companions and their mother, speechless. The blonde twins and their mother thought it was cool

"I think I'll name you… Blue," she said, getting acceptance from the steel/psychic-type. "Welcome to the team."

"It's your turn, Naruto," his mother ushered.

"Alright," he sighed. "Here I go."

Naruto hesitated at first, then held the button down. The sphere snapped open. A burst of bright white light escaped to several feet and coalesced into a shape. It was purple with a blue mouth, spiky, and floating over the ground. It cringed at the bright sunlight caused by the Cherrim's Sunny Day and it hissed as it tried to shield its eyes from the glare with its disconnected hands.

Naruto's Mystery Pokemon was a shiny Haunter.

The twins promptly screamed.

* * *

**Alright! I am finally done with Chapter 4. Please review**


	5. Chapter 5

**Down The Slope**

Chapter 5

* * *

**Read and enjoy.**

* * *

Kushina winced at the sight of the Haunter and her children's inevitable reaction. Of all the Pokemon that could have been inside the Great Ball, it just had to be a ghost-type. She had not expected to see one. Naruto and Naruko had a moderate, if understandable, phobia of ghosts. So how did a Haunter come to be in Naruto's possession? And a shiny one no less?

The ghost-type flinched at the combined screams of Naruko and Naruto, but it was too absorbed in cringing at the bright sunlight to do anything else. Ghost-types were naturally nocturnal, so this one had probably never been exposed to the sun, let alone the affects of Sunny Day. Kushina sighed and went over to hug her son and daughter and keep them from spiraling into a panic attack.

When they had been small, she had made the mistake of letting them watch some horror movies on TV. Even though they had been edited for foul language and the more graphic bits of violence, they were still very frightening. And most of the movies shown involved ghost Pokemon preying on unsuspecting humans. No matter how many times she assured them that the ghosts in the movies were just trained actors in costumes and that the blood was not real, they were still terrified of them and it had taken a ban of ghost movies and several months to get them sleeping in their own beds by themselves. Plus, there was an incident with one of the Nara family's ghost-types that she wished she could forget.

'I'm so not trusting Shikaku to baby-sit them again…'

Naruto's Umbreon immediately put itself between the Haunter and its trainer to protect him. The rest of her son's Pokemon followed suit. Even Naruko and Hinata's Pokemon, though Flo, Sahara, Lady Luna, Serpent, and Knives, and even Blue, did not know what had happened until it seemed that the Pikachu explained it to them. And soon enough, there were nineteen Pokemon serving as a protective barrier for their trainers. Well… actually eighteen, because Cherry was rather baffled by what was going on.

"Where'd you get that?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the Haunter warily.

"Eep!" Sakura squeaked, hiding behind Sasuke and clinging to her bloomed Cherrim.

"Make it go away!" Naruto whimpered, tugging on his mother's sleeve.

"It's going to devour our souls!" Naruko yanked on the other sleeve.

"No, it's not going to eat your souls," Kushina said as calmly as she could. "Look at it, it can barely see in this sunlight. It won't hurt you."

"It's going to possess me!" Naruto panicked.

"Make it leave!" Naruko started showing signs of hyperventilation.

"Naruto…" Hinata was worried; she had never seen her boyfriend like this before, though she knew of his fear of the paranormal. 'Note to self, don't catch ghost-type Pokemon.'

Kushina bit her lip in concentration as she tried to figure out how the Haunter could have up in her son's Great Ball. With their memories still thoroughly blank between their fall and waking up in the hospital, she doubted that Naruto could even answer that question. And that left only one person who might know how the hell this happened…

'…Ah, crap.'

"Alright you two, calm down," she muttered to her brood and pulled a Pokeball from her belt and unleashed its contents. "Wish!"

The large ten-pointed purple starfish appeared in a flash of light and made a strange cooing sound.

"Wish, I want you to find Sunshine," she instructed her psychic/water-type. "Bring him here by any means necessary. Go!"

Wish made its strange cry loudly and levitated off the ground with its psychic powers and hovered for a moment. Its faceted red gem flashed in an eerie senseless pattern that scared the blondes more. And then it started spinning rabidly before it shot off into the tree in a seemingly random direction without any warning.

"…'Sunshine'…?" the Uchiha boy muttered in the silence.

"What kind of parents would name their kid that?" the Haruno girl wondered.

Kushina ignored the stupid questions and focused on trying to calm her son and daughter down.

"Naruto! Naruko!" she said with a commanding tone, forcing to them to look at her face directly, instead of staring at the source of their fear. "Relax. That Haunter isn't going to do anything to you two. It's the middle of the day and ghost-types hate being out in the sun. Hinata and I aren't going to let it touch you. And besides, Shadow is an Umbreon now. He and Rixie can protect you with their dark-type powers. Okay?"

They trembled. "You sure?"

"I'm sure," she said with a firm nod and a warm smile. "Everything is fine, so just relax. Right, Hinata?"

"Yes," Hinata quickly nodded, ready to help her boyfriend in any way possible.

Her children slowly turned to peer at the ghost Pokemon from the corner of their eyes. The Haunter had sunk down to only a few inches off the ground, almost touching it, and was futilely shading its eyes from the overwhelming power of Sunny Day, squinting comically. They shuddered and looked away from it.

"Why do I have that thing?" Naruto asked while he was still shivering. "I don't like ghosts—I would never catch one!"

"Neither would I. So yeah, why do you have that thing?" Naruko agreed.

"That is what I'm hoping to find out once Wish comes back from its errand…"

* * *

Minato stared blankly off into space as Blair walked the winding trails south of Onsen Town. There was no way that his Rapidash could run as much as he needed her to. If he tried to race her until he was finally calm enough, she would have kneeled over and died. And there was no sense in punishing his Pokemon for something that they had not had anything to do with.

'What the hell was she thinking? That if she just ignored things, that her problems would just resolve themselves? Or was she thinking at all?'

The tangled knot in his chest tightened even more and he wrung the loose reins in his hands. He wanted to embrace her. He wanted to hit her. He wanted her leave. He never wanted to see her again. He was feeling conflicted and it left him almost sick.

'Kushina…'

Blair reared suddenly was a cry and Minato almost tumbled off to the ground. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa, girl! What's wrong?"

The Rapidash calmed down and Minato spotted a Starmie floating in the middle of the trail, it gem glowing with an attractive light.

"…Wish?"

The Starmie's gem blinked twice.

Minato scowled. "Did she send you to get me?"

Two more pulses.

"Well that's too bad… I'm not interested."

Wish's gem darkened for a moment. Then the gem glowed a bright white and sprayed the glowing star-shaped projectiles of a Swift attack at the trail, forcing Blair to leap backwards.

"Damn it," Minato sweared. "Alright! Alright! Enough! I'll come!"

The Swift attack was cut off and Minato got soaked by a simple Water Gun. Wish's way of telling him to cool down. The Starmie went to using it Illuminate ability on them, drifting off the trail and calling eerily to them.

"Great," Minato muttered sourly as he shook his head, trying to get the water out of his hair, and urged Blair with a twitch of the reins. "She'd better have very good reason for this…"

The Starmie led them on a winding path through the forest and up the slope that went back towards town. Just before reaching the fringes of Onsen, the starfish turned sharply and traveled around the edge to the east. The little game of Follow-The-Starmie ended in a high meadow that he used to hang out in as a child with his uncle and read his adventure books.

The first time he had brought Kushina home to Onsen Town, he had shown it to her before he had even given her the tour of the entire town.

But she was not alone in the meadow. The boy—Naruto—and the girls—Naruko and Hinata—were with her. And two other kids—a boy and a girl—he did not recognized. And several groups of Pokemon as well.

Minato pulled Blair short from exiting the forest as a surge of nerves hit him.

He had only encountered Naruto and Naruko twice before. The first time they and the Hyuga girl had been hurt and unconscious and he had no idea of the blonde twins' significance. The second time was when he had slipped into their room after-hours and watched the kids sleep, even calming them down when the boy started having a nightmare, as he came into terms with what he had learned. So what exactly would Minato find when he approached?

'…I don't know anything about them. And they don't know anything about me. They might as well just be another pair of young fans.'

Shaking his head, he slipped off from Blair's back and headed towards the large cluster of humans and Pokemon with his Rapidash following close behind him.

The mystery girl looked strangely interesting. She had short, shoulder-length pink hair, which made him wonder if she had any relation to the Nurse Joy line. The girl wore dark blue spandex bike shorts under a red dress with white rings on it and a vague Chinese flavor to it.

The mystery boy looked to be one of the Uchiha. The red fan with a white handle stitched on the back of his blue jacket was a dead giveaway to that. The sullen and arrogant aura that seemed to cling to him only furthered his suspicions of him. Minato wondered if he was related to Elite Four member, Itachi Uchiha.

Kushina looked nice… But he pretty much always thought that she looked nice. She was a great deal more put together than she was when she had shown up at his front doorstep several days ago. Her long red hair was done up in an intricate braid with only the shorter hair that framed her face and her bangs hung loosely. She dressed more femininely than she had when they had first met. But she still stuck with jeans and a sported leather jacket.

And Naruto and Naruko… and Hinata… were wearing some new clothes. He remembered seeing the hospital staff throwing their old outfits after removing them from them. He guessed that Kushina must have bought them those new outfits from the second hand clothing store there in Onsen. All he had got them were new bags to replace their old tattered ones.

Then he noted the Pokemon and how they were arranged in the meadow. The other two trainers' creatures did not really interest him nearly as much as Naruto and Naruko's did. And maybe even Hinata's if the girl was to become his future daughter-in-law. He recognized the Pikachu, Umbreon, Croagunk, Absol, Gible, Glameow, Riolu, Buneary, Ralts, Hippopotas, Piplup, and the pair of Vulpix. But the Vibrava, Ursaring, Metagross, Registeel, Luvdisc, and Gyarados (of course one of them was gonna have a Gyarados) was new to him. And the Haunter was several yards away, cowering under the brightness of what he suspected to be Sunny Day. Wait… is that a… shiny Registeel?

'Strange,' he frowned as he approached. 'The way their Pokemon are standing… it seems like they're defending them against the Haunter. But the Haunter isn't being aggressive at all. And… why do Naruko and Naruto seem afraid. What the…? Is that Haunter shiny? Whoa! Two shiny Pokemon in one day. What are the odds of that?'

'…Well, here goes nothing.'

"Alright," Minato sighed when he was directly behind her. "What is it that you want?"

Kushina flinched at his voice and muttered, "Sneaky bastard." Wish belatedly drifted through her line of vision. "Thanks for warning me…" Kushina stiffened getting up and turned around to face him, her jaw clenched, and pointed behind her at the Haunter. "Could you explain that?"

Minato scratched the back of his head while he gathered his thoughts. "Well…"

"League Champion Minato?" the pinkette squeaked, her voice barely audible.

"…You called in 'Sunshine'?!" the black-haired boy sputtered.

"I'd asked you repeatedly to stop calling me that!" Minato sighed wearily. "But I don't think that you can."

Her bluish-green eyes flashed and she pointed again towards the Haunter. "Explain that…or I will go back to 'Girly'… or 'Pretty Boy'!"

"What needs explaining, exactly?" he asked tensely.

"Why the hell does Naruto have that?" she demanded.

Minato eyed the Haunter, which was still being quite docile. "…Is there something wrong with having a Haunter? And a shiny one at that."

Kushina growled and closed the two-foot gap between them. "It doesn't matter if it's shiny or not! Naruto and Naruko are terrified of ghost-types!" she hissed into his ear angrily. "Neither of them wants one! So why does Naruto have one?"

"…Oh." His irritation with her immediately dissolved into tense and awkward embarrassment.

While catching the Haunter had not been planned, it should have been a good thing. When the hurt twins turned out to be… his son and daughter… catching the Haunter for Naruto was like a gift. It was not the best way to make up for eleven years of missed birthdays, but it was certainly something. However, finding out that Naruto and Naruko were frightened of ghosts pretty much made his spontaneous gesture backfire.

Minato sighed and dragged a hand down over his face. "Whoops."

"Eh?" Kushina raised an eyebrow, arching it. "You got that thing for him?"

"…Accidentally," Minato muttered with a bit of hesitation.

"How can you catch a Pokemon by complete accident?"

"Ummm…" Minato shoved his hand into his pants pockets and looked down at the grass.

The Sunny Day finally waned, making the noon sky seem strangely dark, despite the fact that three was not a single cloud in the sky.

"Well…?" Kushina crossed her arms over her chest and started tapping her foot.

Regaining his nerve, he related the scene that he had encountered five nights ago. He told her about what the ghost Pokemon were doing. And he described the spur-of-the-moment capture.

They listened without interruption, Kushina and Hinata's faces unreadable… which made him feel uneasy.

Hinata shuttered as she looked that the Pokemon. 'So that's why my Pokemon are acting like that too.'

"Hinata, Naruko and Naruto almost got eaten by ghosts?" the pinkette yelped, reminding Minato abruptly that there was an audience made up of more than Pokemon and his rescues.

"Alright… Let me get this straight," Kushina said slowly. "You didn't just catch Naruto a Haunter, you caught him a human-aggressive one?! Great!"

Minato flinched at her sharp tone. "It's a bad idea to release a Pokemon like back into the wild. If Naruto and Naruko weren't so afraid of them, it wouldn't be as much of a problem. But since they are, I'll just arrange a trade with him."

"Alright," Kushina sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of her nose. "That co—"

"Mom!" Naruko interrupted her mother.

"What?" she asked.

"Big brother is gone," Naruko informed. She only identified Naruto as 'Big brother' whenever she was scared.

Everybody looked at the spot where Naruto was sitting earlier and saw that the blonde girl was being truthful. Glancing around the meadow, Minato frowned at not seeing the blonde boy. He had seen the awe in the blondes' widened eyes and felt at a loss as how to respond to them. He dealt with countless starry-eyed fans all the time, but his own kids… who didn't seem to know anything about who their father was? Unsure on how to deal with that, he ignored the twins until he could determine a good way to approach them.

However, at some point during his conversation, if you could call it that, with Kushina, Naruto had slipped away. Not even the Pokemon had noticed the boy's departure and now his team was milling around in disarray looking for the boy with the help of the Pokemon of the two familiar girls.

"Where'd he go?" the Uchiha boy wondered.

"Um… Miss Uzumaki," Hinata muttered. "The Haunter's gone too."

Sure enough, now that the Haunter was not blinded by the affects of Sunny Day, the poisonous ghost had disappeared.

"Damn it! Wish!" Kushina called her Starmie. "Find Naruto! Now!"

"You too!" Hinata and Naruko ordered their Pokemon.

* * *

Naruto ran. He ran until his aching ribs would not allow him to continue. Soon, he settled with walking as fast as he could. He did not stop until he found a large flat rock, which looked a bit like an altar, in the woods and sat down and rested. It hurt to breathe.

Shadow had evolved… and he had missed it. Watching a Pokemon evolve was a special event between trainer and Pokemon. And he had been looking forward to seeing his little Eevee change form, no matter which one it was. He was overjoyed when Han and Sahara had evolved. Shadow had evolved somehow, but he had no idea on when or how.

He had a Haunter now. A ghost-type Pokemon had been only feet in front of him and his sister, not behind the TV screen during a Halloween all-day horror-movie marathon. It was terrifying. And it was embarrassing. Sasuke, Sakura and Hinata had known of his and Naruko's fear of ghosts, but they have never seen how truly scared they were. It made them look like a pair of babies. And Minato Namikaze…

Minato, the coolest Pokemon trainer, had been even closer to him than the Haunter was. He had seen the League Champion of the Star Region in the flesh. And the man had seen him being a huge chicken. Though it was understandable with Naruko since she was a girl. Naruto was sure that he looked like the biggest loser that the ultra-famous trainer had ever seen.

And his mother, she had spoken with Minato as if she knew him. She was not afraid of him (when was she afraid of anything?) or in awe of him. She had yelled at him and threatened to label him with embarrassing nicknames. Wish had known him too, to have fetched him. And League Champion Minato also seemed to know her very well…

It was all like some strange dream/nightmare hybrid. It did not feel real, and yet, he knew he was awake and he had watched unfold before his own eyes. So everything had to be real.

When Minato had admitted to catching the Haunter with Naruto's Great Ball, the boy just leave and try to work everything out in his mind before some other crazy revelation made his head spin even more.

Nothing made sense anymore…

There was a familiar tinkling sound and Cherry hopped onto the flat rock in front of Naruto.

"What do you want?" Naruto questioned dully.

The Vulpix just stared curiously up at him.

"Why'd you follow me, huh? Ever since you started acting up, you couldn't care less about what I do."

The little fire fox did not answer—she could not—she just kept staring.

And then an eerie cackling echoed through the dense trees. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end as his blue eyes rapidly darted around the shadowy and, now, threateningly forest. The fear made him cold, made him sweat, made it difficult to breathe.

The Haunter drifted out from a tree trunk, its floating hands reaching for him and tongue rolling out of its mouth hungrily. Naruto froze, terrified but unable to move as the ghost drifted closer and closer. Cherry snarled and spat an eerie bluish fireball with a hazy tail at the ghost. The Will-O-Wisp wobbled in an unpredictable zigzagging pattern before it struck the Haunter on one of its hands. The ghost Pokemon shrieked in pain as its ethereal body was burned and its eyes started getting all teary as the burn continued to cause it pain.

Seeing the Haunter hurt broke the paralyzing spell that trapped Naruto. In the movies, the ghosts were only hurt by sunlight, if they could be hurt at all. Ghosts were not afraid of anything at all and they loved being terrifying and cruel. They did not cry when they got burned.

"H-hey!" Naruto called.

The Haunter paused in its whimpers and sniffles to glance at an advancing Naruto and prowling Cherry.

"Y-y-you sh-shouldn't scare people like that!" Naruto reprimanded the best he could now. "It's not nice!"

It was stupid to be scared of ghost-type Pokemon. They were just like any other Pokemon that could be captured and trained. He was Pokemon trainer now, and too big to still be such a big baby. And besides, League Champion Minato caught the Haunter for him. That made it special and he should not be afraid of it.

Naruto looked into the eyes of the Haunter, and something told him that it was female.

"A-are you a g-girl?" he asked the poisonous ghost.

The Haunter could only nod as it was still in pain.

"I… I think I'll c-call you Witchy… because… your laughter reminds me of a witch's laugh," Naruto babbled, wiping his sweaty hands on his pants.

The ghost-type narrowed her eyes at her trainer as she cradled her injured hand close to her body.

"I… wish I had my bag… or I'd give a Rawst berry for your burn."

The Haunter—Witchy—just kept staring at him like she could not believe what he was saying.

"I hope we can become good friends someday!" Naruto decided, doing his best to inject as much enthusiasm as he could into his voice.

Witchy frowned and slowly drifted closer again.

Then Wish appeared, placing itself between Naruto and the ghost Pokemon. Bare seconds later, Sahara flew through the foliage, using Sand Tomb around Naruto in a defensive manner, its Screech attack forcing Witchy back. Shadow arrived next, with Flo riding on his back. Han and Reaper rounded out his team, but Naruko and Hinata's Pokemon, Blue the Metagross included, ran in and shielded him. All nineteen Pokemon, eighteen if you exclude Cherry, circled around the Haunter, making the burned ghost hiss out of nervousness.

"Naruto!" his mother called as she ran up to him with Naruko, Hinata, Mermaid and Torrent the Feraligatr on her heels. "Naruto! Are you okay?!"

The three females rushed in and hugged him.

"Yeah, big brother! Are you okay!" Naruko muttered.

Naruto blinked in surprised. "Yeah, I'm alright."

Kushina let go and started frantically checking him over with the help of his sister and girlfriend, which completely shocked him. "Are you sure? He didn't get too close to you, did he?"

"Mom, I'm alright," he repeated. He was only sweaty and shaky, but he wasn't hurt. "And Witchy's a girl." He turned to the Pokemon. "You guys don't have to do that. I'm okay!"

"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked as he and his Charmeleon caught up. "Because you seemed rather scared earlier."

"Shut up, Loner," Naruto muttered with a pout.

"You… guys… run… too… fast!" Sakura panted as she stumbled into view, still holding her Cherrim, which had gone back to its gloomy looking form with Sunny Day over.

"Are you sure you're okay, Naruto-chan?" his mother asked worryingly.

"Yeah, mom—don't call me that!" Naruto shrugged of the females' hands and grabbed his bag from his mother's possession. "I'm not a baby anymore."

"Are you sure?" Sasuke jabbed, repeating his last question.

"Emo!" Naruto snorted.

The Haunter then materialized behind the Uchiha boy and poked Sasuke's back with its unburned hand. He let out an undignified squawk and ducked form the ghost, nearly stepping on his Charmeleon's tail and crashing into Sakura in the process. Naruto, Naruko and Hinata broke into a fit slightly hysterical giggles.

'Heh! Who's the baby now?!'

Witchy seemed satisfied with Sasuke's reaction, but winced in pain from her burn. Naruto managed to get his giggles under control and dug into his new backpack, looking for a Rawst berry. As Witchy pulled closer out of curiosity with the Pokemon getting defensive again, Naruto whipped out the berry he wanted. Holding it up, he offered it to the Haunter, which she immediately snatched from his hand and ate it. The ghost marveled as the pain ceased and the wound disappeared.

"There. All better?" Naruto asked as he retrieved the Great Ball from his belt, and got a nod from Witchy. "Alright! Now get back in here!"

In a flash of red light, the Haunter was sucked back into the Great Ball.

"Impressive!" a man's voice said. "Not everybody is so willingly to face what frightens them, Naruto!"

He turned around to see who was speaking… and nearly had a heart attack.

Star League Champion Minato had come to find him, too. Even though he was wearing a dark blue turtleneck sweater with red swirls on the upper sleeves and a green vest over it instead of his iconic white shirt with red flame, there was no mistaking him. He looked super awesome with his magnificent Rapidash standing by his side.

'Wait, when did he get behind me? What is he—a ninja?' Naruto thought before something hit him. '…How does he know my name?'

* * *

**Done! I'm gonna start working on Chapter 6. So...**

**Please review**


	6. Chapter 6

**Down The Slope**

Chapter 6

* * *

**ALRIGHT! Here it is the sixth installment of 'Down The Slope'. I have enjoyed writing this fic and many others. I hope many of you enjoy my works. Well, it's time for the show to begin.**

* * *

Minato was really impressed. The Haunter had clearly terrified Naruto initially, but on his second encounter, he was willing to give it a shot and work past his fear. He had known grown men who were less able to face what frightened them. Moreover, it was the smart thing to do. It would be unfortunate if Naruto or Naruko faced a trainer that owned a ghost-type Pokemon and fell apart upon seeing it.

'I wonder what caused this fear in them. And… why is he staring at me like that? Naruko too?' Minato wondered as Naruto and Naruko stared at him with pale faces and very wide eyes. 'It's like I'm like the ghost Pokemon suddenly and not the Haunter…'

"Are you two okay?" Minato asked them. "And why are you staring?"

Naruko and Naruto tensed at the sound of his and stumbled a bit, going back to being awed, almost to the point of being scared. Minato had seen it before. Some fans would get excited upon meeting him in person. They would get talkative and loud and overwhelming. But some just shut down, unable to believe that they were meeting their idol. And some would even run away from him.

And from what he could see, his children, who were hiding behind their mother, fell into the latter class of admirers.

'…Ah, great.'

"Oops, sorry," Minato grinned nervously. "Did I startle you? Naruko? Naruto?"

The twins choked out a feeble combined squeak.

'Well,' Minato swallowed. 'This is awkward…'

Kushina intervened then. She caught Naruto and Naruko by the arms and towed them to the side, pinching their ears to snap them out of their daze. After a few quick whispers, she straightened up and gave the twins an amused yet exasperated look.

"Yes! Naruto! Naruko!" she said slowly. "He knows your names… And Hinata's. He's the one that found you three in the mountains and brought you guys into town. Then he found out my phone number and called me, which is how I found out where you were and that you were in the hospital. Okay?"

"Oh…" Naruto rubbed the back of his neck.

"Mom, how did you get here?" Naruko wondered.

"Train," Kushina replied.

"Why didn't you take the car?" Naruto asked.

"I… accidentally totaled it on my way home from grocery shopping about a week after you three had left," she admitted.

"You drive?" Minato asked, shocked.

"Yep! A black sedan," Kushina nodded. "You don't?"

Minato shook his head.

"Um… Miss Uzumaki?" indigo-haired girl asked hesitantly. "You… know Mister Namikaze? I mean—you called him Sunshine and…"

"Sure, I know him," the red-haired woman snorted. "Who doesn't? He's always on TV and stuff."

"But Mom… you never watch him when he's on TV," Naruko said.

That stung. A lot. Minato had hoped that whenever one of his battles was broadcasted, or re-broadcasted, on television that she would see him and be inspired to contact him. Or at least fondly remember him if she had moved on from him. But she never watched?!

"You don't like watching my battles anymore?" he asked with a pout.

Kushina flinched. "…I used to, when Naruto and Naruko were babies. But then I'd get lonely and depressed, so I stopped."

"You could've just called me," Minato muttered as he scuffed the ground with the toe of his sneaker.

"Yes, I know," Kushina grumbled. "But we both know that I'm stubborn and stupid."

"You're not stupid, Mom!" Naruto and Naruko immediately protested in their creepy unison and hugged her waist.

"But I'm not perfect either, you two," their mother sighed and patted their backs. "In fact, I'm far from perfect as you can get."

"You're not quite that bad," Minato shrugged with his comment.

"Don't worry Mom. You'll always be perfect to us," Naruto said with a wide smile. "Right, Sis?"

"Yeah!" Naruko nodded in agreement.

"Thanks," she replied sweetly at her kids. Though Minato did not know that. "That makes me feel a lot better."

"You're welcome," the three blondes said in weird sync.

Sasuke and Sakura were confused about the combined response, Hinata tilted her head in a cute, bewildered fashion and Kushina childishly stuck her tongue out at Minato.

Naruto and Naruko fell to the floor laughing. Soon, their mother, Hinata, and Minato followed in the laughter as well. The black-haired boy and the pinkette did not know what was going on. Even the Pokemon were confused. Kushina was the first one to regain herself.

"Alright, I think we've all had enough excitement for one day," she said, catching her breath. "Why don't you put your Pokemon away so that we can head back into town?"

"Okay," Naruko mumbled as Naruto and Hinata nodded in agreement and all but Han, Rixie, Heart, and Duke were returned to their spheres.

The blonde boy started to stand up, but his legs did not seem to want to support him. His injuries, all that running and walking he had done, and his stress with Witchy seemed to have done him in, leaving his legs as sturdy as jelly.

"Alright, stop," his mother sighed. She called forward her other water Pokemon that was out, her faithful Feraligatr. "Torrent! Naruto needs a lift."

The giant blue crocodile lumbered over the boy and picked him up in his scaly arms with incredibly surprising gentleness. Naruto felt both relieved that did not have to try and walk anymore, and embarrassed that he needed to be carried like a baby. The young Pikachu was fascinated with the amazing view he could get from the top of the big blue Pokemon's head. Naruko though, seemed irritated.

"I wanna ride Torrent, too!" Naruko pouted as she stomped her foot.

The Feraligatr made a noise that, oddly enough, sounded like a chuckle and immediately gave in to the girl's demand. Torrent lowered his head and allowed his master's daughter to climb onto his shoulders. Rixie the Absol just shook her head and sighed deeply at her trainer's antics.

"Okay! Now let's go," Kushina grinned and she and Mermaid led the way back to Onsen Town.

Torrent and his three passengers and Rixie followed her immediately. Hinata and her Riolu, Sasuke and his Charmeleon, and Sakura and her Cherrim, followed after the Feraligatr. Minato hesitated, fiddling with Blair's reins. H wanted to go with them, but his presence only made things awkward. Whenever he opened his mouth, all the kids would stare at him, and Naruto and Naruko looked like they were inches away from freaking out.

'Maybe I should just—"

"Hey!" Kushina called over her shoulder. "Are you just going to stay out in the woods and sulk?"

"I'm not sulking!" he yelled back. "I was thinking," Minato added more quietly and joined the short caravan to town with Blair in tow. "There is a difference."

"If you say so," she shrugged. "I think a nice soak in the hot springs is in order!"

"YEAH!" Naruto, Naruko, Hinata, and Sakura yelled in agreement.

"Hn," Sasuke shrugged.

'Well, if that's the case, I'll have to leave Shade on patrol," Minato thought. "I know that Jiraiya is bound to make and appearance and start peeping.'

* * *

Naruto groaned, slipping into the steamy water of the hot spring. He could see now why Onsen Town was famous for them and where the town's name came from. Soaking in the hot water felt great. Especially on his battered and sore body. And this particular hot spring was Pokemon friendly.

That was a good thing for Naruto, because with Torrent's support, he would have probably drowned since his body was still unresponsive. The Feraligatr was basking under the water, letting Naruto rest on his back. Han, Reaper and Shadow, though the Umbreon was doggy-paddling, were enjoying themselves immensely. Even his sister's Sherman and Hinata's Duke, Spray and Torpedo were there. With the Hippopotas being a ground-type, it was resting on the concrete walkway absorbing the steam along with the Gible. The Pikachu, Riolu, and Spray were doing cannonballs repeatedly, while the Umbreon and Croagunk let themselves float aimlessly. Flo, Cherry, Sahara, and Witchy were in women's side, since they were, of course, female Pokemon. Naruto just hoped that the Haunter was behaving itself and was not causing any trouble for Naruko.

Sasuke was nearby, also relaxing in the hot water. As Sasuke's Charmeleon, which was named Charcoal, was a fire-type, therefore weak to water. He returned it to its Pokeball and brought out his Staravia name Talon and Bagon named Sky.

On the other side of the wooden fence in the ladies' side, his mother, sister, Hinata were luxuriating along with Sakura. Kushina was a bit predictable to her kids as Mermaid was at her side. Naruko and Hinata were telling Sakura about their journey as the pinkette did the same. Sakura's only two Pokemon out were the Cherrim and Eevee. Flo was happily swimming around the warm water. Sahara, Cherry and Sunset were doing the same as Sherman and Torpedo, and enjoyed the heat from out of the water. Hinata's Buneary, Heart, had evolved on the way back to town and the Lopunny was enjoying the water. Lady Luna and Rixie were enjoying the soak, too, but still managed to keep an eye on Witchy, who was also having a good time. Kunoichi and Gloss were soaking while sitting on their masters' laps.

Minato, the Champion of the Star Region, had vanished shortly after they had reentered town. Naruko and Naruto were relieved. They had made enough fools of themselves for the day. In addition, the scar on his forehead looked really gross.

"Naruto," Sasuke grunted. "How come neither you nor your sister never mentioned that your mom knew Minato Namikaze?"

"She never told us that she did," Naruto muttered back. "She never tells us that she knows anybody."

"Weird," Sasuke remarked as he rubbed the curl on top of his Staravia's head.

"Yeah," Naruto pouted as he watched the Pokemon frolic. "I wonder how they met…"

"Her Kabuto tried to steal my lunch."

Naruto yelped and slipped off Torrent's back into deeper water. He struggled to reach the surface, but his legs were still tired from all that running and could not generate enough power. A well-muscled Poliwrath helped him get back onto Torrent's scaly back so he could get some air.

"Wow," Minato sighed in dismay. "Am I really that scary?"

The greatest trainer in the Star Region stood there at the edge of the pool. He had exchanged his khaki pants, blue turtleneck and green vest for a pair of midnight blue swimming trunks with yellow lightning bolts down the sides and a Poliwag patterned towel over his shoulder. The Poliwrath swam over to him and waited for the human in jump in and join it in the water.

Naruto gaped at the man for a good minute before he managed to break through the block that kept him silent. "You keep appearing out of nowhere! What are you, some kind of super ninja?!"

Minato looked a bit taken by his son's outburst, but then he laughed. "I don't think that anyone's ever accused me of being that before," he chuckled as he slipped into the water.

"Er…" Naruto flushed in embarrassment. "Sorry."

"Eh, don't worry about it," the man smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"…So Slash tried to steal your lunch," Sasuke repeated slowly.

"Yes," the blonde man nodded.

Naruto fidgeted a bit before he gathered his nerve to speak again. "When did you meet my mom?"

"Oh… When I was about your age," the older trainer replied.

Naruto shifted on Torrent's back. "That's so cool." 'So Mom met him before he was famous.'

"I didn't think so at the time," Minato sighed as he settled back on the edge of the hot spring. "She just inserted herself into my company and never seemed interested in leaving."

"Fangirls," Sasuke muttered.

"She wasn't a fan," the Champion corrected. "This was way before I had a reputation. I'm not from a famous bloodline. And her presence wasn't all that bad. She kept me company, kept things interesting and helped me out. And by the way you said 'Fangirls', it leads me to believe that you got some yourself."

"Hn," Sasuke snorted.

"Every girl at school competed for his attention," Naruto explained. "All except Hinata and Naruko. And how come mom never told us about any of this?"

The man looked sad. "You and your sister are going to have to ask her that."

"We will," Naruto decided

There was not any further conversation after that for a while. Well, except for Naruto talking about his days at school and the rest of the Konoha Eleven. Naruto sat on Torrent's submerged body and watched Reaper try to arm-wrestle with the Poliwrath only to lose every time to the more experienced fighting toad's strength. Shadow, Han and Duke seemed to already soaked long enough as they soon were out of the water and chatting up with Sherman and Torpedo. Even Sasuke's two Pokemon were out. Only Spray was still in the water doing a backstroke. The warm water was soothing and Naruto started to nod off. Sasuke was starting to fall asleep as well.

"I think you two are done," Minato said quietly as he caught Naruto before he let his face drop into the water and urged Sasuke out of the onsen. Minato reached under the water and tapped Torrent on the head, bringing the Feraligatr to the surface. "It's time to get out of the pool."

Torrent climbed out of the water, still carrying Naruto on his shoulders. Seeing their trainer leaving, Reaper, Han and Shadow hurried to follow with Duke, Sherman, Torpedo, and Spray following. Sasuke and his Pokemon were right behind them. The older blonde led everybody into the locker room where he helped Naruto dry off and exit the hot spring. Somehow, it felt good to do that.

"I'm okay," Naruto insisted as he leaned against Torrent's scaly blue flank outside the men's side of the hot spring. "I'm not tired," he claimed as he yawned.

"Right," the man chuckled as he put the Poliwrath back into its Pokeball.

A surprising amount of time had passed and the sun was barely starting set bring the evening hours. It was almost time for dinner. But it felt a lot later to Naruto and despite his claims, he could have curled in a bed and fallen asleep in minutes. The other boy also seemed ready for bed.

"…Naruto," Minato said hesitantly. "I'm sorry about the Haunter."

"It's okay," Naruto blinked. "You didn't know that… Naruko and I don't like ghosts."

"Well, it bothers me that I'd saddled you with a Pokemon that you would probably never use in a battle." The man stared off towards the setting sun. "…So I figured that I could trade you something for that would be more useful to you."

Naruto (and Sasuke) was rendered speechless. Even though the Haunter was a ghost, it was special because the great Minato had helped him get it. But the opportunity to trade it for something that was not a ghost-type, a Pokemon that Minato had captured and trained… It was mind blowing.

"…Really?" Naruto finally managed to squeak.

"Really," the Champion confirmed with a nod. "If that's what you want?"

Naruto slid down Torrent's side to sit on a wooden bench, his mind spinning. He probably would not be offered any of the Pokemon that he had seen the man use in his televised matches, but he surely had more Pokemon at his disposal than he used. And who knew what monsters there were to choose from.

But… should he really just get rid of Witchy the Haunter? Not too many trainers used ghost-types and ghost Pokemon had certain advantages. And having a ghost Pokemon would him overcome his issues, and maybe Naruko's also, with the type so that if he faced down another trainer with a ghost-type, he would not freak out or freeze up.

"…I don't know," Naruto mumbled.

"That's alright." Minato gently helped to his feet again. "When you make up your mind, let me know."

"Okay…" And then Naruto blurted out the stupidest request ever. "Can I see your Dragonite?"

Instead of refusing him like Naruto had expected, Minato smiled kindly at him. "Sure."

The Star League Champion released a large, tan, winged Pokemon with thin little antennae. It was tall, but still a few inches shorter than his mother's massive Feraligatr. The mighty dragon looked somewhat cute, but that belied its great power.

The Dragonite first greeted Torrent with a fist bump like he was an old friend before it noticed Naruto clinging to the Feraligatr's side. It actually seemed a bit startled to see him and quickly leaned down to get a batter look. Naruto held his breath as the dragon-type gently touched his face and hair with its sharp claws and sniffed him some. Then it really got startled when Naruko decided to make a sudden appearance and did the same to her. The Dragonite glanced over to its trainer before exchanging a few words with Torrent. The dragon considered whatever it had learned from the blue crocodile, looked down at Naruto and Naruko again… and smiled at them as it patted them on the head like as if they were cute little puppies.

"So I take it that you approve of Naruto and Naruko, Ryu?" League Champion Minato asked.

Ryu the Dragonite gave an affirmative nod as a reply.

"Oh good," Minato grinned then turned to the girl. "What are you doing out here and where's your mother and the other two girls?"

"I had a bad feeling so I got out early," she said as she kneeled and rubbed her Hippopotas on the head. "Didja behave, boy?"

"What kind of bad feeling?" Naruto asked worryingly.

"I dunno," she shrugged. "I just didn't feel comfortable in there anymore. I was already in my clothes and walking out of the ladies' locker room when Mom, Hinata and Sakura were barely getting ready to get out."

Naruto and her female Pokemon followed closely behind Naruko. All of their Pokemon move to be in front of the towering dragon, though Lady Luna was also a few inches taller than it. Ryu politely greeted the fifteen Pokemon and they appeared to have a nice little chat. But the cute Pokemon interaction was interrupted by a man's yell and a bird's cawing on the far side of the hot spring complex, which was the girls' side.

"I guess my gut was right," Naruko muttered.

In minutes, the bird cries and the man's startled shouts grew closer. And then the tall white-haired man that Naruto and Naruko's mother had identified as the gym leader of Onsen Town skidded around the corner, coming from the women's side of the hot spring with a Honchkrow pecking at his head. The gym leader ran back and forth in front of the onsen's entrance until Minato whistled and the dark-type bird broke off and landed next to him.

"Good boy, Shade," Minato said, patting the Honchkrow on its fedora-like feather crest.

"MINATO!" the man with the ridiculously long white hair wailed. "That was totally uncalled for and unnecessary!"

The blonde man did not look apologetic. "I have to respectfully disagree with you, Uncle."

"He's your uncle?!" the blonde twins asked with wide eyes.

"Yes," Minato sighed. "I'm related to him, unfortunately."

"What the hell do you mean by that?!" the man asked, then moved so that he could see the blonde twins standing between the Dragonite and Feraligatr. "Oh! It's you two again!" And then he took notice of Reaper. "Which one of you has the Croagunk?"

"I do," Naruto answered slowly.

"Excellent!" the white-haired man declared, clapping his hands together. "I like you already!" He cleared his throat theatrically. "Allow me to properly introduce myself…"

There were two flashes of light as the man simultaneously released a Poliwrath and Politoed. The two water Pokemon took stations on either side of the man, and went through some kind of dance routine. The gym leader also danced… well, sort of… if one considered the weird poses and hopping on one foot "dancing".

"I am the Great Jiraiya!" he announced. "I am the gym leader of the Onsen Town Gym, Sage of the Toad Pokemon, Master of amphibious Pokemon, author of the best-selling book, and wooer of the ladies!"

Sasuke looked less than impressed

"And a super pervert," Kushina sighed as she exited the onsen with her Vaporeon, and Hinata with her Ralts and Lopunny, and Sakura with her Cherrim and Eevee, wholly unmoved by the man's presentation. She motioned Naruko to do something as she passed the man, and the girl rushed in and gave the gym leader a swift, but brutal, kick to the nuts, causing him to sing soprano as he fell to his knees. "Shame on you for peeping!"

"Ngh! What the… hell, Kushina?! I swear didn't see anything!" Jiraiya pouted as he struggled to get back to his feet. 'I think one of them popped.'

"But you would've if Shade hadn't stopped you, or Naruko hadn't gotten a bad feeling about staying in there longer," she shot back as she reached the Honchkrow. "Thank you, Shade, and good job Naruko."

The dark bird preened happily at the praise and the blonde girl grinned.

Hinata anxiously tugged on the blondes' mother's sleeve. "Did he really try to peep on us while we were bathing, Miss Uzumaki?"

"Yes, but good thing we were already in the locker room when he gat caught," Kushina answered with a grimace as Mermaid licked the pinkette's Eevee dry. "It's one of his few hobbies… another is writing dirty romance novels that are basically porn stories."

"I don't write porn!" Jiraiya protested stoutly, getting back to his feet after the pain had subsided. "I write best-selling pieces of literature!"

"Whatever," the older female muttered. Then she squealed as the Dragonite scooped her up into its arms for a hug. "Hello Ryu! I missed you, too!"

"Did you miss me?" Jiraiya asked.

"No," she bluntly replied as the Dragonite put her back down.

"So mean," the gym leader pouted and shrank in on himself as his two frog-like Pokemon patted his shoulders consolingly.

"Hmph," she snorted and placed herself between her loyal Feraligatr and the blonde man.

Minato seemed to notice something now that Naruto and Naruko's mother was not wearing her jacket and lifted her Heart Scale necklace into better view.

"Since when do you wear jewelry?"

"Since I didn't wanna lose this scale," she answered.

"Hey, Hinata and I also got one!" Naruko cut in.

And she was right. Both of Naruto's traveling companions had one hanging from each of their necks. Minato studied the shimmering heart-shaped scales for a moment, and then smiled warmly at Kushina. She grinned back at him and it looked like she was blushing a bit. The twins' eyes darted back and forth between them in mounting confusion.

"What the heck are they doing?!" they wondered the same thing.

When the League Champion lifted his hand to her cheek, Naruto and Naruko moved in to tug her arm.

"Mom, can we go get dinner now?" they asked in unison.

"Alright," she sighed, smiling wryly. "What would you two like?"

"RAMEN!" they immediately answered.

"Of course," she snorted. "Let's go. I know just the place…"

* * *

Minato sat out in a wooden bench on the back porch of Jiraiya's house and stared up at the starry night sky. Without the bright streetlights of the big city and with the clear mountain air, there were thousands upon thousands of tiny stars to see. If not millions. It was a beautiful sight that he missed when he stayed at his Champion City apartment.

Kushina appeared from inside the house and sat beside him, passing him a steaming mug of hot chocolate. Like the breakfast she had made for him a few days ago, it was not toxic. In fact, it was pretty good.

"Are they asleep?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said with a nod and a sharp sigh. "I didn't even get the chance to let them know that they're sleeping in your old room."

"They'll find out in the morning," Minato shrugged as he sipped his drink. "But why did those two decide to sleep in the same room as him?"

"Traveling together, they've gotten used to sharing rooms in Pokemon Centers," Kushina replied then she giggled. "They'll be so excited."

"I don't know," he muttered. "Naruto and Naruko didn't seem too keen on me getting close to you. And they kept giving me suspicious looks all through dinner."

"They've never seen me with a man before," she replied. "They've never had to share me with anyone."

"Really?" He raised an inquiring eyebrow. "You never tried to date anyone else?"

"Nope," she shook her head. "You set the boyfriend bat way too high. I haven't found anyone that can compare."

"Oh really?" Minato grinned so broadly that it started to hurt his cheeks.

"What about you?" Kushina asked. "I'm sure that you had a ton of pretty girls desperate to date you."

"I'd been talked into a few blind dates," he admitted. "And I was roped into few other dates with girls as contest prizes," he added with a grimace. "But I never found a single woman that I found half as interesting or attractive or beautiful as you."

"Stop it! You're making me blush," she huffed and lightly punched him on the shoulder. "You wicked charmer!"

"Only for you," he laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Kushina sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "Oh, Minato… Sometimes… I wonder why you were ever interested in me."

"I could give a thousand reasons, but I'll just keep it simple," he replied and swallowed nervously. "Because I loved you."

They stayed quiet for a while, then something popped into his mind.

"What started their phobia of ghost?" Minato asked.

"You know those horror movie marathons they show on Halloween?" He nodded. "They were five when they decide to watch one of those marathons and from that day forward, Naruto and Naruko have been afraid of the type."

"Oh," Minato said.

"And then there was the time I'd accompanied the professor to a meeting in another region, so I had them stay with a friend of mine, Yoshino Nara, so that she could baby-sit them," she sighed heavily. "They were six."

"What happened?"

"Her husband, Shikaku, released his Dusknoir to feed it, but forgot to return it to its Pokeball afterward and it floated around chasing them because it wanted to play. Since she knew of their fear and had told him about it, she punished him by making him sleep on the couch for an entire year," she explained.

"What about those scars?" he wondered, remembering their whisker-like scars on their faces.

"Wild Meowth attack when they were three," she looked down at her legs, ashamed. Then she looked up at him. "Are you planning to start being a part of their lives?"

"I don't see why not," he shrugged. "Their technically, and biologically, mine too."

She smiled. "I love you."

"You… what?" Minato blinked, looking down at her face.

"Idiot," she remarked as she let out a soft yawn. "I followed you for years, had sex with you on multiple occasions, and gave birth to you babies—of course I love you!"

He gaped at her. "You mean that?"

"Yes," she rolled her eyes with a retort. "Now let's go to bed.

He laughed a little and kissed her.

* * *

**WOO! Chapter 6 is done. Only one more chapter for 'Down The Slope', Chapter 7.**

**Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go pass mission 8 in 'Playboy: The Mansion', then get all my confiscated shit back in 'The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind-Game Of The Year Edition', and finally start working on Chapter 7.**

**Please leave reviews everyone.**

**Laters**


	7. Chapter 7

**Down The Slope**

Chapter 7

* * *

**Finally, the last chapter of 'Down The Slope' is here! OH MY GOD! This one is a good one. Now for some theatrics.**

**Thank you my loyal reader for leaving your reviews. They give me the courage to continue writing fanfiction.**

**Okay. That is enough theatrics for now. On with the show.**

* * *

Naruto almost thought he was back in his room in Konoha Town when he woke up. He clearly was not in the hospital room anymore. Nor was he staying in one of the plain rooms packed with bunk beds in the Pokemon Centers ready for traveling trainers. But as he cleared the sleep from his eyes, he sat up and started looking around the room, picking out the differences between his room and this one. While doing so, he spotted Naruko and Hinata sleeping on top of an inflatable queen mattress. They were even sharing the large, Politoed-print blanket.

The bed sheets were all wrong. He had Dewgong-patterned sheets, and this one had Pokeball and Great Ball-patterned sheets. The posters taped to the wall were also wrong. All of these posters were old and fade due to exposure to the sun. And most were of trainers that he had never heard of, though he did find one of Professor Sarutobi when the man used to be the League Champion. The walls were the wrong color. His room was a deep icy blue, not a pale yellow. And the books that lined the two large wooden bookshelves… he did not have that many books, and neither does his sister. They mainly collected stacks of manga, league magazines and the few textbooks they needed for school.

'How'd we get into some other kid's room?' Naruto wondered fuzzily as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. '…And what a lame room. It's full of old posters and boring books… and a lot of dust.'

He stretched slowly with a lot of wincing, groaning, and some yawning, which woke up the girls. With his painkillers worn off, his ribs ached, but not as bad as before. When Hinata and Naruko were fully awake, the trio changed into their new outfits and walked out of the mysterious bedroom, leaving Han, Gloss and Duke sleeping on some large pillows with various Pokemon stitched onto them.

People say that twin sibling tend to have some kind psychic/telepathic connection, and the Uzumaki twin were proving them right. Frowning in concentration, they thought back to the previous night. They remembered the ramen dinner at a nice little restaurant and how good the noodle soup had tasted, but it still would not compete with Ichiraku's ramen back in Konoha Town. They also recalled how Minato had come along too, and how the man kept touching their mother's hand and giving her mysterious looks and smiles. Now Naruko and Naruto were just plain frowning.

'Star League Champion Minato is cool… but he should know better than to touch someone's mom like that! It's really creepy and wrong! And… and not allowed!'

They wandered aimlessly through the strange house, poking their heads through open doors. They found four closets, a bathroom that they took turns using, one locked door, and a room packed full with books before finding the stairs. After slowly going down the steps, they started looking around the ground floor.

And then they found Kushina.

She was curled up in her green sleeping bag on the floor in the living room, fast asleep. But she was not alone. Minato was there too, asleep in a dark blue sleeping bag. And even though they were in separate bags, they were snuggled up nest to each other, and they looked like they were holding hands.

Naruto, Naruko and Hinata gawked at the sight.

This was clearly NOT appropriate. This was obviously NOT allowed. And Naruto and Naruko were going to put a stop to it… And then Naruto was going to get his pills.

The twins opened their mouths to yell—

Large hands closed around their mouths and Hinata's as well, arms wrapped around their torsos, and then they were lifted off the ground and carried to another part of the mysterious house. They tried to struggle, but it hurt too much and whoever had got them was just way too strong. Just as they were starting to panic over being kidnapped, they were plopped down on some chairs in the house's kitchen and they got a look at the ones who had grabbed them. It was Jiraiya and two of his Pokemon, a familiar looking Poliwrath and a Swampert.

"Hey!" Naruto muttered indignantly at the white-haired gym leader. "Why'd you grab us?!"

"Are you a pervert and a pedophile?!" Naruko joined in, pulling a leg back ready to kick the man again.

The towering man scowled down at them, but took a step or two back. "I'm not a pedophile! I was merely trying to prevent you from disturbing such a cute and romantic scene!"

The trio squinted at the man in confusion. "Huh?"

"Let them sleep," Jiraiya said as he started going about brewing a pot of coffee and reheating the leftover hot chocolate. "They need it after being apart for so long."

They watched him measure out coffee grounds and turn on the stove, placing a pot on top of the flame.

"What are you doing here?" Naruko asked.

"This is my house," Jiraiya snorted, emptying a bunch of breakfast pastries from a white paper bag onto a platter in the middle of the table. "Why wouldn't I be here?"

"Oh," the twins rubbed their whisker-scarred cheeks simultaneously.

Finally Hinata spoke. "So… who's room were we sleeping in?"

"Minato's old room," the man answered as the coffee maker was starting to bubble and the pot of cocoa was barely starting to boil. "And you boy, were wearing his old pajamas, incase you were wondering."

The three trainers boggled at that.

"Why so surprised?" Jiraiya studied them curiously from across the kitchen, but paid more attention to the blonde twins.

While Naruto and Naruko were not some of those crazy fans who would pay to get their idol's things and trash, they were completely blown away by the fact that they had slept in Minato's old room. It was beyond their wildest dreams. Not only had they met the man in person and spoken to him, the man had caught Naruto a Haunter and offered him the chance to trade, they had gotten to meet the man's mighty Dragonite, and now all of this…

Naruto and Naruko wanted to explain all of that, but they were still dumbfounded.

Jiraiya settled himself across the table from the trainers. "So you two, what do you guys know about your father?"

"Uh…" Naruko and Naruto dropped their eyes to the table, bringing worry to Hinata's. "…Nothing."

"Nothing?" Jiraiya choked. When he did not get an answer from them, he faced the bluenette, who shook her head. Then he growled. "That stupid, stupid girl!"

"Eh?" the twins glanced up curiously. "Who?"

"Don't call out mom stupid!" they snapped, instantly incensed. "Take that back right now!"

The gym leader could have sworn that their eyes quickly flashed red, but was otherwise unaffected by their righteous anger. "No. She ditched Minato without a warning and leaves him miserable for years and she doesn't tell two you anything? That's stupid. She has no reason for that."

Naruto and Naruko opened their mouths to protest—

"Is that coffee I smell?" Minato mumbled as he stumbled blindly into the kitchen.

"Yep, but it's not ready yet," Jiraiya grunted and gently guided the blonde man towards the table. "Here, take a seat."

The Star League Champion yawned and scrubbed his eyes. "What were you four talking about?"

"How stupid your girlfriend is," Jiraiya replied sharply.

Naruto and Naruko sat back in their chairs, their minds spinning off in an entirely new direction. The two men kept talking—something about smart people panicking and irrational fears—but they really were not paying attention. Their mother being Minato's old friend and traveling partner was one thing, but if she was his girlfriend…

Without a word, Naruto slipped off his chair and left the kitchen.

"Where're you, Naruto?" Naruko asked.

"Training!" he sternly replied.

He went back upstairs, grabbed his belt with Pokeballs and slipped it on, headed back down the stairs and out the back door onto the back porch, slamming the door. The house was a lot like his home in Konoha Town. It was on the outskirts, surrounded by nature. He walked of the porch and headed straight into the forest to find a good spot to train his Pokemon and vent out some stress.

Back inside the house, Naruko kept staring at the spot where her brother had disappeared. She was worried, and by the look on her face so was so Hinata, and the two girls just hoped that Naruto would not do something stupid. Jiraiya, acting like nothing had happened, grabbed two mugs, filled them with finished hot chocolate, and placed them in front of the girls. They plucked some of the pastries from the Crystal platter. Hinata being a bit predictable, grabbed a cinnamon roll and Naruko got two lemon jelly filled donuts. The two of them ate in an uncomfortable silence. Naruko could tell that Minato was worried about Naruto as well.

With a sigh, the blonde girl put her pastry down and looked at the Champion. "The old man said that you are our dad. Is that true?"

"Hey!" Jiraiya snapped. "I'm not that old! And I never said that! I only said that your mother was his girlfriend!"

Minato sent a venomous glare to his uncle, making him flinch, then nodded. "Yes."

Hinata wasn't surprise as she understood what Jiraiya was saying.

"I'm sure Mom had her reasons for not telling us about you," she muttered, taking a bite out of her donut. "But before you start taking part in my life, know this, I don't do pink or anything else girly. I'm a tomboy and I'm proud of it."

"Just like your mother," he smiled and laughed.

"Heck yeah!" Naruko said, slamming the mug onto the table after chugging the hot drink.

"How 'bout you and your brother start calling me 'Dad'?" he asked hopefully, accepting a mug full of coffee from Jiraiya and grabbing a pastry for himself.

"Alright, but don't get overprotective on me. I can handle myself…" the blonde girl struggled for a bit. "…Dad."

"Deal," Minato accepted.

For the next few minutes, Minato listen to the likes and dislikes of the twins as his daughter explained them to him He was not surprised when Naruko mentioned that they liked ramen. She even told him how they have acquired their fire foxes. She even warned him about trying to play pranks on Naruto or her or the both of them together, and even told him examples of their revenge tactics. Soon, Hinata finished, because she was a bit of a slow eater, and the two girls started getting up.

"Hinata and I are going to train as well," the whisker-scarred girl declared, pushing her chair in. "I just hope that Naruto ain't doing something right now, like punching a tree or a rock."

"I'm sure he's okay," Hinata said, but Naruko could see the worry in her eyes.

"Alright," Naruko sighed. "Let's go."

* * *

The girls also went upstairs and grabbed the things they needed and headed out, looking for a spot closer to the mountains to do their training.

"Han! Iron Tail on that boulder!" Naruto commanded his Pikachu, then his Croagunk. "Use Brick Break on that stump, Reaper!"

His mouse and frog followed their orders and attacked the objects. Han's tail got a metallic sheen and the Pikachu slammed it against a large boulder. The end result was just a small chunk breaking off. Reaper's hands glowed brightly and karate chopped the rotten tree stump, causing it to explode, sending bits of mush flying everywhere.

The Pokemon knew he was not feeling okay. They felt that something had happened to their trainer. The atmosphere was so thick with tension that not even Witchy the Haunter dared to play a trick on him. They all knew that he was blowing off some steam. One of the other ways of doing it was running laps around the clearing they were training in. Naruto was not asking for the impossible, just a way to calm his nerves and control his emotions.

"Cherry! Use Ember on that log!"

The weak fire-type attack landed, igniting it.

"Flo! Practice your aim with Water Gun and knock down as many apples from that tree as you can!"

The pink heart-shaped Pokemon shot the weak water-type attack from its mouth, and missed, but it continued trying.

"Practice your flying by going through the trees and try not to let any leaves fall, Sahara!"

The bug-looking dragon-type took off and zoomed through the tree line. Only a few leaves fell to the ground. The only thing Naruto heard was the high pitch sound of the Vibrava's wings rubbing together as it flew.

"Shadow! Witchy! I want both of you to use Shadow Ball to help Han destroy that boulder!"

The dark-type and the poison/ghost-type shot out black round blobs at same rock that the Pikachu was smacking with Iron Tail.

This went on for the next twenty minutes. Afterward, Naruto had them go into the forest and battle wild Pokemon to further master their skills, though he had to return Flo to her Pokeball. When the Pokemon were out of sight, he took a seat at the base of a hardy tree, picked up an apple and ate it before he started to nap.

Somewhere in the woods, but not too far, Naruto's Pokemon met up and started talking in worry about him and his mood. They were breathing hard since they were tired from battling too many wild Pokemon.

_:What's up with Whisker Face today?:_ Cherry asked in annoyance.

_:Don't know,:_ Sahara replied. _:But something is definitely wrong with him.:_

_:I've been wondering,:_ Reaper said after thinking of something. _:Who was that man with the same colored hair as Naruto and Naruko?:_

_:Could he be their sire?:_ Han wondered. _:Naruto and that man do share some resemblances.:_

_:He is,:_ Shadow replied bluntly. _:Mermaid told me so and that they grew up without knowing about him.:_

_:That sucks,:_ Witchy muttered as she spread out on the grass.

_:I guess he just found out and Naruto is trying to push away the shock of the surprise,:_ Han suggested as he scratched his ear.

_:That would make sense,:_ Sahara slowly nodded her head. _:But I wonder how the girl took the news?:_

_:Whatever,:_ Cherry sighed. _:Let's head back before Whisker Face starts to worry and I'm hungry.:_

When they got back to where Naruto was, they saw him up, grabbing the apples and setting them up for his Pokemon to eat. The boy turned his head and saw his Pokemon entering the clearing.

"Welcome back," he smiled a genuine smile. "Time for breakfast!"

_:Alright!:_ the Pokemon said at the same time as they rushed to the apples.

They were all enjoying the juicy pieces of fruit and they noticed that their trainer was over his problem. Halfway through breakfast, trainer and Pokemon heard a rustling sound and turned to face a shaking bush. They watched it intently as it continued to shake as they all knew that there was Pokemon there. Soon something large and pink stumbled out of the shrub. It had dreadlock-looking appendages on the sides of what was supposed to be the head, short arms, small feet, tiny beady black eyes, and some sort of pouch on its belly with what looked like an egg. Naruto smiled and slowly reached into his pocket and withdrew one of the custom Pokeballs his mother had ordered for him.

"Let's go guys!" Naruto roared. "After that Chansey!"

* * *

An hour and a half after Naruko and Hinata had left to train, they returned. They walked in through the back door and strolled back into the kitchen, but not before noticing that Kushina was still asleep. The girls took their seats at the table and started chowing down on the steaming hot microwavable chicken potpies that were waiting for them.

"So, how was your training session?" Minato asked from behind the newspaper he was reading.

"It was great! Hinata's Kunoichi evolved to Kirlia," Naruko explained to her father. "And why is Mom still asleep.

"Well congratulations, Hinata," Minato smiled at the Hyuga girl. "She hardly slept on her way here to Onsen Town. So she's still tired."

"Oh," Naruko muttered

"T-t-t-thanks… Mr. Namikaze," Hinata replied shyly. "Though it d-d-doesn't h-h-help m-matters when a wild S-S-Steelix disrupts o-our training battle and s-starts attacking."

"You were attacked by a Steelix?" Jiraiya gaped in shock, standing by the microwave.

"Mmhmm," the blonde girl nodded and held a Heavy Ball up. "And I caught it. It was a female and I named it Edilean."

"Wow!" The gym leader took out a third potpie from the microwave and placed it on the table.

It was not long when the back door opened and closed and Naruto walked into the kitchen. He spotted the now warm pie and sat down to eat. The two men and two girls looked at him curiously. As if they were asking him about how his training went. The white-haired man walked to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of what the kids guessed was beer and opened. It was his twin that asked the question.

"How was your training, brother?" Naruko asked excitedly.

"I caught a Chansey," he answered dully.

Jiraiya spit out the beer all over Minato and almost choked on it too. The other four occupants of the kitchen were surprised by his reaction and Minato was feeling grossed out. When he caught his breath, he proceed on telling about the sightings of a wild Chansey around town and about how many trainers had tried to catch it and failed. He then started calling Naruto lucky for actually managing to capture it. Naruto plucked the eighth ball from his belt and smiled as he stared at it, while he thought of a name for it. Since Chansey was an all-female species, he needed a girl name. And then, one popped into his head.

'Mari!'

Then the phone rang. Jiraiya left the kitchen to answer it. With their lunch gone, Naruto and Naruko walked out into the living room. Minato and Hinata followed them out and saw them kneeling on either side of their mother and lightly shook her shoulders.

"Mommy," they muttered. "It's time to wake up."

She slowly started to stir—

Minato was interrupted from watching the cute family scene by his uncle touching his shoulder. "What?" he whispered.

"Phone call for you," Jiraiya murmured back. "In the study. It seems important."

With a grimace and deep sigh, Minato went to the small study in the corner of the house and took the videophone off hold. He wanted to grimace even more when he saw a grim-faced police officer on the screen. But instead of frowning, he managed a polite smile.

"Good morning, officer. What can I do for you?"

"Good morning to you too, Minato Namikaze," the officer greeted formally with a slight bow. "I am Officer Shiro Uchiha of the Green City Police Department."

It wasn't much of a surprise to find an Uchiha police officer. Only so many of the Uchiha could go into the family business of running Uchiha chili pepper farms, and the Uchiha Clan was a sprawling mess of interconnected families. So most of the leftover Uchiha tended to go into the "other" family business and become police officers throughout the Star Region.

Green City, also known and nicknamed Casino City, was founded by the Senju family. And the family's last living member was the gym leader, Tsunade Senju. But just like the rest of the Senju family, she loved to drink heavily and to gamble. The city was accurately named and nicknamed. It was named Green City because it was basically completely surrounded by luscious green forest and EVERY building had a bright green roof, including the Pokemon Center. It was nicknamed Casino City because of the outrageous number of casinos (imagine Las Vegas, but only ten times worse). Even the Pokemon Center and the police station had some slot machines.

"I'm aware that you're on vacation at the moment," the Uchiha continued. "However, a matter had come up in the Forest of Death, and Officer Jenny wishes for your assistance in investigating."

"Is it Team Sound?" Minato threw in a wild guess.

"Yes, I'm afraid," Officer Shiro nodded. "We wouldn't have bothered you, but…" he frowned. "…Tsunade is gambling in the casinos again and refuses to be bothered. Other gym leaders are too busy with challenges and none of them are close enough to justify calling them from their posts to assist us."

"…Alright," Minato sighed, trying to hide his irritation and disappointment. "I'll head out later today, and meet you and Officer Jenny at your police department."

"Thank you," the Uchiha bowed at the screen again. "And sorry about cutting your vacation short."

"It's alright," Minato replied, though it really was not okay. "I'll see you then."

The police officer nodded and the screen went dark.

Minato groaned and turned off the phone.

'Great,' he thought sarcastically. 'I need a shower then I need to run some errands before I leave.'

* * *

The trio of young trainers sat on the bench on Jiraiya's back porch. They were fiddling with the balls that contained Blue the Metagross, Edilean the Steelix, Witchy the Haunter, and Mari the Chansey. Cherry was dozing off under the bench. Han was playing with a Pokeball, tossing it to Duke, Spray, Kunoichi, or Torpedo as they played catch. Heart was resting on the floor next to Hinata. Shadow, Rixie, Gloss, and Sunset seemed to be playing tag with Mermaid out in the backyard. Lady Luna was leaning against a tree and appeared to be napping with her arms crossed. Sahara was flying around, having fun. Sherman basked in the sun. Knives just stood there. Flo swam around the small pond. And Reaper found a rotten stump that was not as rotten as the last one and started using it as a punching bag. Naruko decided not to bring out Serpent.

Soon, the four new Pokemon were released to join their teammates. Edilean coiled up and sunbathed. Blue used its psychic powers to catch the Pokeball before it went to far when it was tossed to hard and returned it to the small Pokemon. Witchy found a shady spot under a tree, and started planning for a way to scare Naruto. Mari stayed on the porch and she looked frustrated for finally being caught.

Hinata was enjoying seeing the Pokemon play. Naruto and Naruko were not really paying attention to what was going on around them. Now that 'excitement' about finding out the Star League Champion was their father, they had time to think. Their heads were too full to think clearly. They did not know how they felt anymore. All their emotions were mixed up.

They supposed that they should be happy. They had gone from having no father at all, to having one of the coolest fathers possible. If they went down to the Pokemon Center where Sasuke and Sakura were staying, they would surely amaze them with this new information. Hinata sure was happy for them. They finally had a dad.

Hinata decided to give the blonde siblings space to think and went to join the playing Pokemon with Heart in tow.

'Mom…'

It was hard to see their mother scared of anything. She was not bothered by ghosts or scary movies or dark Pokemon or bug Pokemon or anything! One time, at Konoha Town's only grocery store, some wild Spinarak, four to be exact, had went inside to escape the winter cold, and while all the other women screamed and ran away from the spider Pokemon, she calmly picked them up and took them home. She later returned them to the forest in the spring, but one kept coming back, so their mother caught it. It was a female and she named it Charlotte. Their mom was tough and fearless and always knew what to do and was the best mom ever.

And yet, when they talked to her about why their father was not around, she claimed it was because she was afraid. She had not been ready for them to come along. She had not expected them at all. She had run away… and never had the courage to come back. But she still dove straight into family life and gave motherhood a shot.

They remembered how their mother kept calling herself a coward and them reassuring her that she was not. They did not hate her for hiding the truth from them. They could never hate their mother. Sure, they got mad at her when she let them have an extra cookie or grounded them or made them do their homework, but they could never ever hater her. Besides each other, she was the only family that they had.

"What are you two doing?"

"Gah!" Naruto and Naruko yelped and jumped off the bench, landing on their faces. Getting back up, they turned around. "Stop doing that!"

"Sorry, didn't mean to sneak up on you," Minato apologized. "So… What are you two doing?"

"Nothing," Naruto muttered as he and his sister turned back to watch the Pokemon frolic in the yard and Hinata walking back to the porch. "We were just thinking to ourselves."

"Okay." The man sat on a wooden rocking chair and set a heavy pack next to the chair, as Hinata sat back on the bench. "Well, unfortunately, I'm going somewhere."

"You are?!" Naruko blinked.

"Yeah," Minato sighed. "Something's come up somewhere and I have to leave immediately, cutting my month-long vacation short."

"Oh." Naruto and Naruko seemed disappointed.

"Well, before I go…" The blonde man pulled three digital devices, one red, one white, and one pink, from his bag and handed them to the trio. "I believe these are yours."

Naruto, Naruko and Hinata took the repaired Pokedexes, returned their extra Pokemon, and flipped the devices open one-handed. They pressed the 'on' button and, after a few beeping tones, the screens lit up. There was a warning tone, then the balls containing the Haunter, the Metagross, the Steelix, and the Chansey disappeared in a flash of light, teleporting to be transferred by satellite and arriving at Professor Sarutobi's lab back in Konoha Town. And then they were once again within the legal six Pokemon they are allowed to carry on themselves.

"Bye-bye," they murmured and slipped the Pokedexes into their new Dex pouches on their belts instead of their pockets or backpacks.

"And one more thing…" The League Champion pulled three small plain wooden boxes from his bag and handed them to the trainers. "…A few thing you guys might find useful someday."

They took the boxes, but did not open them.

Minato stood up and walked down to the middle of the backyard, all the Pokemon rushing to the side, and releasing his Dragonite. He slipped the bag onto his back and climbed onto the Ryu's back. Naruto and Naruko slipped off the porch and hesitantly walked over.

The blonde man noticed the twins approach. "You need something?"

"Will we ever see you again?" the whisker-scarred twins asked.

"Of course!" he chuckled. "We might just have found out each other, but you're still my son and daughter and there's nothing that could keep me from seeing you two again."

They smiled, but Naruko looked like was ready to burst into tears.

The man smiled faintly at them. "Alright. Now stand back!"

Naruko and Naruto took a few big steps back, and Hinata and the loose Pokemon gathered around to watch the Dragonite take off. Ryu lifted off and climbed high into the sky, circled the house twice, and darted off in a direction. Within moments, the man and the dragon-type were completely gone from sight.

"Wow," they breathed.

Their eyes then fell to the boxes in their hands. They were not heavy, nor light. Curious, they lifted the lids and peered inside their boxes.

Naruto found two stones, a weird object and a note. He quickly identified the stones as evolutionary stones. One of them was the yellowish-looking Fire Stone and the other one was the glassy-green Thunder Stone. The strange object looked like a spring inserted into a boxing glove. It took him a while to figure out that it was a Lucky Punch, an item to increase the Critical Hit Ratio of Chansey. The note read:

"_**For when you think they're ready…**_

_**Love, Dad."**_

Naruko found a Fire Stone, a pair of black leather fingerless gloves and a note as well. She immediately slipped on the gloves and picked up the note. It read:

"_**Use it when you think your Vulpix is ready…**_

_**Love, Dad."**_

Hinata discovered a Pokeblock case, a purple Poketch, and a note too. She slipped the case into her pocket and wrapped the Poketch around her wrist. After checking what applications the device on her wrist had, she grabbed the note and read it.

"_**Thank you for traveling with them and good luck in your contests…**_

_**Sincerely, Star League Champion Minato Namikaze."**_

The only thing the three of them had in common was that they all got new Pokemon Navigators with videophone access.

"Let's go rotate our team," Naruko suggested.

Naruto and Hinata nodded in agreement and returned their Pokemon and ran to the Pokemon Center before the sun could set.

* * *

**Done! I know some of it might have been cheesy and that some of you might not agree with Naruto having a Chansey, but this is my story. So deal with it.**

**Okay, here are the Pokemon listings for our three trainers. Shinies are ****underlined****.**

**Naruto: Vulpix-Cherry, Pichu/Pikachu-Han, Luvdisc-Flo, Eevee/Umbreon-Shadow, Trapinch/Vibrava-Sahara, Croagunk-Reaper, ****Haunter-Witchy****, Chansey-Mari**

**Naruko: Vulpix-Sunset, Glameow-Gloss, Magikarp/Gyarados-Serpent, Ursaring-Lady Luna, Hippopotas-Sherman, Absol-Rixie, Steelix-Edilean**

**Hinata: Piplup-Spray, ****Registeel-Knives****, Ralts/Kirlia-Kunoichi, Riolu-Duke, Buneary/Lopunny-Heart, Gible-Torpedo, Metagross-Blue**

**If you want to know what happens next, wait for the next chapter of their Pokemon journey, 'Poker Chips And Scary Woods'.**

**Leave your reviews and peace out.**


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